GB2094362A - Yarn gathering apparatus and yarn gathering method - Google Patents

Abstract

In a warping machine, particularly for patterned and short warps, a plurality of spools 24 on a beam 11 are successively wound, each with a number of yarns side-by- side from a creel 13, and a number of spooled beams 11 are then simultaneously wound onto a single warp beam 15. The machine has provision for leasing each spool 24 as it is wound and simultaneously treating the sheet of yarn as it is wound onto the warp beam 15. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Yarn gathering apparatus and yarn gathering method This invention relates to a yarn gathering apparatus, particularly for patterned warps and short warps, comprising a gathering machine which has a plurality of winding beams to be wound with yarn one after another, these winding beams each being arranged to be wound ribbonwise and comprising also a rewinding device which functions to rewind the yarns from the wound winding beams on to a single warp beam.

In one known apparatus of this general type, short cone drums are used as winding carriers, and these are wound in such a way that the wound width of all the cone drums taken together equal the width of the warp beam. The winding of a cone drum is carried out in such a way that a yarn sheet is wound on as a ribbon of yarns. After the completion of one ribbon, further ribbons are then wound on immediately next to it, until the cone drum is full. The ribbons of several full cone drums are then rewound jointly on to a warp beam. In this known apparatus one yarn ribbon should correspond to the particular pattern repeat size. With very large pattern repeats with a correspondingly large number of yarns, this leads for example to the number of yarns having to be very large. Accordingly, many bobbin stations have to be provided.However, it is the prime object and the advantage of such yarn gathering apparatus to be able to operate with a small number of bobbin stations on a bobbin yarn supply frame. This is desirable in order to be able to keep the manufacturing costs down, for example if warps for cioth patterns have to be produced, or if only comparatively short warps of for example 100 metres in length are needed. With extremeiy wide pattern repeats a division of the pattern repeat into a number of yarn ribbons would lead to the fact that the bobbins for a winding process on a drum or at the end of each ribbon would have to be reversed, which would lead to considerable extra work.In addition, with the known yarn gathering apparatus, only comparatively short yarn warps can be produced, since with a larger winding capacity the difficulties which are known from the production of long warps with cone gathering machines arise, which leads in particular to a lack of uniformity in the wound structure, which is determined for example by the type of yarn and the winding speed, and this can lead to yarn breakage over unequal ribbon lengths.

As compared to this, it is an object of the present invention to produce an improved yarn gathering apparatus of the type first referred to above, which is substantially independent of the warp yarn pattern repeat and can be used to gather up longer warp lengths.

This is achieved in accordance with the present invention in that the winding beams are each provided over a width substantially corresponding to that of the warp beam with a plurality of gathering members arranged spaced from each other and each delimited by side plates which are adjustably spaced from each other, each gathering member being arranged to take up a ribbon, and in which the winding widths of all the gathering members taken together cover the winding width of the warp beam.

it is important for the present invention that an allocation of the yarns to be gathered together and of the yarn ribbons is made to a plurality of gathering members arranged spaced from each other. Depending upon the warp pattern repeat and yarn thickness, a suitable division of the yarns to be gathered can be established. For example, a very wide pattern repeat can be divided into four sections of equal width and the yarns of one section wound exclusively on the gathering members of a single winding beam. The width of the gathering members and their winding widths must be dimensioned so that the winding width of the warp beams is fully covered.The yarn gathering apparatus is therefore practically independent of pattern repeat, and comparatively large warp lengths can be wound using largediameter gathering members, since the individual ribbons are well supported by the side plates of the gathering members. Depending upon the yarn strength and yarn thickness one can produce long warps of for example between 10 and 1000 metres, so that the yarn gathering apparatus can be used not only for the production of patterned warps but also for the manufacture of production warps, such as are needed for the manufacture of small and middle size series pieces.An adjustable spacing of the gathering members and/or of the side plates of these members relative to one another means that the number of winding beams necessary for different ribbon widths is changed, since the winding beams can be suitably fitted out for the particular requirements. One such fitting out or adaptation of the winding beam for the yarn material to be gathered is preferably achieved by making the winding width of the gathering member adjustable. In one preferred embodiment of gathering apparatus, for adapting the winding beam or the gathering members to the yarn material to be gathered, each winding beam has an axial shaft on which a plurality of pairs of side plates are adjustably mounted, one plate of each pair comprising a radial flange on a sleeve seated on the shaft and the other plate of each pair being adjustably secured to the sleeve.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the gathering machine includes a control device for longitudinal relative displacement of the winding beam and a yarn laying device which carries out the ribbon-wise feeding of the yarns and by means of which a yarn ribbon is automatically wound on to each of the gathering members of a winding beam in succession. It is therefore not necessary to make manual adjustments after the winding of one ribbon or ribbon coil in order to be able to wind on the next ribbon coil of a winding beam, and instead this happens automatically over the full winding beam width or warp beam width.

The yarn laying device may comprise a pair of yarn guide rollers carried on a slide and having a width determined by the widths of the gathering members, each of the gathering members being positionable in front of the yarn guide rollers, and the yarn laying device co-operating with a ribbon focussing device. A yarn ribbon is therefore taken through the pair of yarn guide rollers and is wound on to a gathering member until this is full, after which the yarn laying device is positioned in front of another gathering member which has yet to be wound. This positioning is carried out by the aforementioned control device which also controls the ribbon focussing device which co-operates with the yarn laying device.The focussing device facilitates the laying of a yarn ribbon on to a gathering member which has yet to be wound, and preferably comprises a pivotable arm which, for ribbon winding, is arranged in front of the ribbon in the direction of relative displacement of the yarn ribbon, and which, for transfer of the ribbon to the next gathering member, can be pivoted into the yarn path to bunch the yarn.The movement of the pivotable arm against the yarn ribbon leads to a bundling of the yarn ribbon into a rnpe This is utiiised in the laying of the yarn ribbon on to a gathering member which has yet to be wound, for which purpose at least one plate of each pair of side plates preferably has a yarn ribbon guide recess delimited in the circumferential direction of the plate by catching lugs, and that side plate of each pair which is foremost in the direction of relative displacement of the yarn ribbon has a threading slot which extends towards the centre of the gathering member The bundled yarn ribbon is caught up by the yarn ribbon guide recess and is guided by the threading slot as far as the centre of the gathering member.It will be appreciated that for the winding of a number of gathering members and for laying the yarn ribbons on to these gathering members a suitable control of the longitudinal relative displacement is necessary from gathering member to gathering member, as well as a stepwise rotation of the winding beam in order to catch up the bundled yarn ribbons.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the gathering machine and the winding beams are arranged substantially parallel to the yarn sheet which is delivered thereto, the yarn sheet passes through a rerouting device which is provided shortly before the yarn laying device, and the rerouting device comprises a reed positioned at a small angle of inclination to the perpendicular to the winding beam axis, and equipped with transverse wires arranged above one another in the direction of yarn travel. The parallel arrangement of the gathering machine and of the yarn sheet to be supplied, as well as the arrangement of a reed at a small angle to the perpendicular to the winding beam axis and which is preferably pivotable about a vertical axis for adjustment, leads to a simple method of setting the width of the yarn ribbon supplied to the laying device.Preferably, the rerouting device is formed as a cross-picking device, the reed is formed as a lease reed which is adjustable as to its height, and its transverse wires are movable away from the reed for the insertion of vertically movable, yarnconcentrating guide rods. The construction of the rerouting device as a yarn picking device thus makes it possible additionally to carry out the cross-picking which is necessary at the beginning and at the end of a ribbon coil on a gathering member in order to fasten off the yarns at the appropriate time and then or later be able to separate them from one another. In addition to this, by means of the rerouting and cross-picking devices, one avoids the need for the yarn routing reed which is otherwise needed between the known cross-picking devices and a winding beam.

Preferably, the picking device co-operates with a gripping device which traverses one or more sheds and by doing so lays a pick or picks through the warp. This co-operation is particularly advantageous if a number of gathering members have to be wound and if accordingly cross-picking has to be carried out for a number of ribbons.

Having regard to automation of the process and having regard to the need for frequent picking, the gripping device is preferably arranged on one side of the yarn ribbon and separate picks are taken in an automatically controlled way from a yarn supply positioned on the other side of the yarn ribbon.

For the rewinding process the rewinding device preferably comprises a delivery frame which takes all the winding beams and in which the gathering members are arranged offset from one another in a manner covering the winding width of the warp beam. The yarns are supplied to the warp beam by way of a guide roller which is positioned at the same distance from each of the winding beams.

By such a construction of the rewinding device one achieves a uniform delivery of the yarns being rewound. It also avoids the need for an additional expansion comb.

Alternatively, in the rewinding process, one winding beam with its ribbon-wise wound gathering members may be held by a bearing frame co-operating with the rewinding device.

With such a bearing frame one avoids the need for an expensive transfer of the wound winding beam from its winding position to a delivery frame of the rewinding device. This can be achieved for several winding beams if all the winding beams are arranged jointly on the bearing frame and are transferred one after another by a transfer device to a winding position which is established in relation to the gathering machine.

The invention is also concerned with a method of yarn gathering, particularly for the making of patterned warps and short warps, in which a plurality of winding beams are wound in ribbonwise manner in succession and their yarns are subsequently rewound on to a single warp beam.

This method is carried out by the known yarn gathering apparatus described above, in which the individual ribbons of the wound cone drums are first separated from one another while the outer end of each winding is cut through. The individual ribbons are taken over a direction-changing roller and a threading die to a brush beam until the threading die is closed and the warp so formed can then be connected by hand to the warp beam by way of an expansion reed.This complicated method leads to a considerable lengthening of the time necessary for rewinding, which is avoided by the method of the present invention in which the ribbons are wound on to each of the winding beams at spaced locations along the length of the winding beam, each winding beam being substantially as long as the warp beam, and, between each pair of ribbons, ribbon sections are produced which bridge the gaps and by means of which all the ribbons of a winding beam can be warped jointly on to the warp beam. This can be achieved for example if the ribbon sections are severed, tied off, jointly picked up by a rod and laid from the winding beams over the warp beam so that the ribbons of all the winding beams in the array can be connected in a simple manner to the warp beam.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention which are given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a first part of a gathering apparatus comprising a gathering machine and bobbin yarn supply frame; Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 viewed in the direction of the arrow l; Fig. 3 is an end view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, viewed in the direction of the arrow II; Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of a portion of Fig. 3; Fig. 4a is a plan view of the part of the gathering apparatus shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is a side view of one gathering member with the laying device and shown as an enlarged view of a part of Fig. 4;; Fig. 5a is a view, on an enlarged scale, of a part of Fig. 4a; Figs. 6 to 8 are illustrations of a cross-picking device with winding beam shown offset through about 900 and with the laying device in side elevation, the three Figures showing different functional positions; Fig. 9 is a schematic side view of a second part of the yarn gathering apparatus and shows the rewinding device; Fig. 10 is a plan view of the rewinding device of Fig. 9, but omitting devices positioned above the warp beam and the winding beams; Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view through a part of a winding beam to illustrate the adjustment of the setting of the gathering members and their winding widths on the winding beam; Fig. 12 is a view, similar to Fig. 1 of gathering apparatus incorporating a second form of rewinding device;; Fig. 13 is an end view of the gathering apparatus shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow Ill in Fig. 12; and, Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line 15--15 in Fig. 14.

The yarn gathering apparatus of the present invention essentially comprises a gathering machine 10 by means of which a yarn sheet 12, originating for example from a bobbin yarn supply frame 13, is collected on a winding beam 1 i.e.

is wound on to the winding beam 1 Additionally, there is provided a rewinding device 14 by means of which the yarns from a number of wound winding beams 11 are rewound on a warp beam 15.

The gathering machine 10 comprises a machine frame 1 6 which receives the winding beam 1 The taking up of the winding beam 11 in the frame 1 6 must be such that the winding beam can be introduced into and removed from the frame, this being effected in the illustrated embodiment by adjustment of the schematically illustrated clamping device 17. In the case of heavyweight winding beams 11 1 it will be appreciated that these are moved automatically by appropriately controlled inserting and trueing devices. The structural apparatus and controls necessary for this purpose are known per se and are therefore not shown in the drawings.The machine frame 16 includes a slide rest 1 9 which is mounted so as to be longitudinally displaceable on guide rods 18 of the machine frame 1 6, and which can be adjusted relative to the machine frame by means of an adjusting spindle 20 which is driven by an electric motor.This relative displacernent between slide rest 1 9 and machine frame 1 6 is most suitably performed in such a way that the machine frame 16 moves on floorengaging supporting and driving wheels 21 while the slide rest 1 9 maintains its relative position in relation to the bobbin yarn supply frame 1 3. This has the advantage that the delivery angle of the yarns of the yarn sheet 12 from the bobbin yarn supply frame 13 and from its yarn guide device 22 on the one hand, and the incoming angle to a yarn rerouting device 23 carried by the slide rest 1 9 on the other hand, is the same for all gathering members 24 of each winding beam 11, so that a correspondingly uniform winding is achieved on all the gathering members 24.

The bobbin yarn supply frame 1 3 includes a stand 25 on which for example 120 bobbins 26 are mounted. The yarns 27 from these bobbins are fed through yarn bralces 28 and through the yarn guide device 22 in the form of a yarn sheet 12 towards the rerouting device 23. The yarn brakes 28 are preferably formed as roller brakes, whose rollers are driven by the yarns which run through them and have a resilient roller overlay which ensures a uniform, possibly adjustable, yarn tension for all types of yarn and all yarn running speeds, as is necessary for a uniform winding on to the gathering members 24.The bobbin yarn supply frame 13 is preferably formed as a turn over frame, as is signified by the double-headed arrows (Fig. 1). Because of this, during the unwinding of the yarns 27 from the bobbins 26, further bobbins 29 can already be fitted into place on the stand, so that after the termination of the yarn supply from the first set of bobbins 26 these further bobbins 29 can be brought into the supply position by a pivoting movement, so that the gathering process can be continued at once.

The yarn sheet 12 which is supplied to the rerouting device 23 is fed as a yarn ribbon 51 through a laying device 31 to the winding beam 11 and to the individual gathering members 24.

The winding of the yarn on to the winding beam is carried out in such a way that, first of all, the first gathering member 24' is wound, and thereafter the further gathering members 24 are wound until one reaches the last gathering member 24".

In Fig. 1, all the gathering members are shown fully wound up to this last gathering member 24".

The winding operation is carried out in such a way that the ribbon coils 32 wound on to the gathering members are connected to each other by ribbon sections 33, i.e. with the coil end of the first gathering member 24' to be wound being connected to the beginning of the coil of the next gathering member 24 to be wound by a ribbon section 33.

Each winding beam 11 includes a throughgoing supporting shaft 34, the ends of which are gripped by the clamping device 17 in order to mount the winding beam 11 within the machine frame 1 6. Each gathering member 24 has two side plates 35, 35' which are arranged spaced from each other by a distance equal to a winding width 36 and between which there is a winding space 37. The one side plate 35 of each gathering member 24 is formed as a radial flange on a sleeve 69 which encircles the shaft 34 and which is longitudinally displaceable and securable on this shaft in a manner which is not shown, for example by means of a clamping screw set into the sleeve.

As a result of this, the spacing 38 between two gathering members 24 can be adjusted by adjusting the sleeve 69 on the shaft 34. The second plate 35' is arranged adjustably on the sleeve 69 of the first plate 35, the facility for adjustment being indicated by a fastening flange 39 coaxial with the sleeve 69. After the release of a clamping screw 40 which extends through the fastening flange 39 the second side plate 35' can be adjusted axially so that the winding width of the winding space 37 and of the gathering member 24 is modified appropriately.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 5a, the side plate 35 of each gathering member 24 which lies to the fore in the direction of relative displacement 41 of the yarn ribbon 51 has a yarn threading slot 42 which is inclined at an angle to a radius of the side plate 35 in the direction of rotation 43. The yarn threading slot 42 issues into a yarn ribbon guide recess 44 at the periphery of the side plate 35, this recess 44 having a circumferential dimension which is matched to the ribbon width and which is larger than that of the yarn threading slot. At the forward and rearward ends of this yarn ribbon guide recess 44 as viewed in the direction of rotation there are respective catching lugs 45 which facilitate and make possible the catching and the positional holding of a ribbon section 33 when it constitutes a yarn rope in the yarn ribbon guide recess 44.Preferably, the second side plate 35' likewise has a yarn ribbon guide recess 44, so that the ribbon section 32 which forms a rope can be guided as shown in Fig. 5a in a flatter state in the catching zone of the yarn ribbon guide recess 44 to the lower gathering member 24" as illustrated.

The bunching of the ribbon section 32 results from the relative displacement of the winding beam 11 on the one hand and the slide rest 1 9 and laying device 31 on the other hand. The laying device 31 includes a pair of guide rollers 46 which are provided with guide flanges and between which the yarn ribbon 51 is fed as shown in Fig. 5.

Moreover, the laying device 31 includes a ribbon focussing device 47 which includes a pivotable arm 48 which is actuated by a piston/cylinder drive unit 49 and is coupled thereto by a lever linkage 50. The pivotable arm 48 and the part of it which extends into the path of the yarn ribbon 51 lies in front of the yarn ribbon, in the direction of relative displacement 41 of the yarn ribbon 51, during the winding process as shown in Fig. 5a, and thus does not interfere with the winding on.If a ribbon section 33 is formed and the laying device 31 has been brought into the correct position in front of the gathering member 24" which has not yet been wound, then the pivotable arm 48 of the ribbon focussing device is pivoted in the direction of the arrow so that the yarn ribbon 51 is bunched up and with a rotation of the winding beam 11 in the direction 43 is grasped by one of the catching lugs 45, and with a further rotation of the winding beam is fed down through the yarn threading slot 42 to the bottom of the winding space 37. Thereafter, the pivotable arm 48 of the ribbon focussing device 47 is again pivoted out of the path of the yarn ribbon, so that the winding space 37 can be wound across its full winding width 36 with a ribbon coil 32 of yarn.

The width of the yarn ribbon 51 which is matched to the winding width 36 of the gathering member 24 is determined by a slightly angled setting of the rerouting device 23 relative to the longitudinal axis of the winding beam 11. The rerouting device 23 essentially comprises a reed 52 which separates the delivered yarns of the yarn ribbon 51 from each other in the horizontal direction in order to achieve a satisfactory yarn feed. The reed 52 is pivotable about a shaft 30 which is held vertical by the slide rest 19, so that the width of the yarn ribbon 51 can be adjusted for a different winding width 36 simply by pivotal movement of the reed 52. In the vertical direction the incoming yarns of the yarn sheet 12 are separated from each other by transverse wires 63, such that each transverse wire combined with a number of reed wires produces a corresponding plurality of yarn rerouting zones. Fig. 4 illustrates the vertical and horizontal separation of the yarns 27 from one another.

As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the rerouting device 23 is formed as a cross-picking device, with the reed being formed as a lease reed 52' with junction stops 52" arranged in two horizontal planes. The lease reed is vertically adjustable. The transverse wires 53' can be moved away from the lease reed 52' to such an extent that an intermediate space 54 for guide rods 55 is created, these guide rods 55 being vertically movable and concentrating the yarns 27 of the yarn sheet 12 in the region of the lease reed 52'.

With upward movement of the lease reed 52' as shown in Fig. 7, a first shed 56 is formed, and with downward movement of the lease reed 52', as shown in Fig. 8, a second shed 57 is formed, such that a weft yarn or pick 61 can be inserted into each shed. The cross-picking takes place when a ribbon coil 32 on a gathering member 24 is begun or is finished off.

The shooting of the pick is effected by means of a gripping device 59 which is arranged on the slide rest side of the ribbon. The gripping device 59 passes through a formed shed and draws off the necessary length of weft yarn from a yarn supply 60 which may be formed for example as a spool of yarn. The pick 61 is then cut off by a cutting device 62 and the gripper device 59 releases its hold on the pick 61 which, upon a further rotation of the winding beam 11 in the direction of rotation 43, is drawn between the yarns of the ribbon coil 32 and the side plates 35, 35'. The complete cross-picking process and the insertion of a pick takes place automatically, and copes with a plurality of gathering members, for which a corresponding cross-picking by hand would be time-consuming.The automatic performance of the aforementioned picking process takes place at the beginning and at the end of a ribbon coil 32 and before there is a relative displacement between the winding beam 11 and the slide rest 19.

A fully wound winding beam 11 is laid in a receiving frame 63 of the rewinding device 14.

The ribbon sections 33 between every two gathering members 24 are cut through and tied off and all the ribbons are grasped, for example in order by a rod pushed through them, and are laid jointly on the warp beam 1 5. This is carried out for all ribbon coils 32 of all the winding beams 11 which, when arranged correctly next to each other in this way, can be warped easily on to the warp beam 1 5. The run of the ribbons can be seen from Fig. 9, from which it can be appreciated that all the winding beams 11 are positioned at the same distance from a guide roller 64, so that uniform rewinding is guaranteed. Between this guide roller 64 and a further direction-changing roller 65, which may be necessary, there is provided a yarntreating device 66, for example for oiling the yarn or for coating and drying the yarn.

From Fig. 10 it can be seen that the winding beams 11 and the individual gathering members 24 arranged on the shafts 34 and each having a wound width 36 are so arranged that all the wound widths 36 when taken together cover the full width 67 of the warp beam 1 5. The winding beams 11 thus have a length which is about equal to the width of the warp beams, and each carries a number of gathering members which are in an order on the shaft 34 corresponding to a warp pattern repeat. A pattern repeat or a part of a pattern repeat is wound on each gathering member, according to yarn thickness and colour position.The setting of the gathering members is effected as shown in Fig. 11, using a first gauge 58 set to the wound width 36 for the gathering members 24 and using a second gauge 68, shown at the top of Fig.11, set for the distance between two gathering members 24, the desired spacing between each pair of gathering members being effected by measuring from the respective same component parts, for example side plates 35'.

The yarn gathering apparatus is operated as follows. First of all, the gathering machine 10 and the bobbin yarn supply frame 13 are mounted in a position relative to each other in which the slide rest 1 9 is positioned in front of the first gathering member 24 of a winding beam 11. Then, a yarn sheet 12 is fed from the supply frame 13 equipped with the bobbins 26 through the yarn brakes 28, the yarn guide device 22, the rerouting device 23 and the yarn laying device 31 to the gathering member 24 in the form of a yarn ribbon 51, and there it is fastened to the centre of the bobbin in a manner known per se, After this, a ribbon coil 32 is wound and the cross-picking shown in Figs. 6 to 8 is performed with the insertion at that stage of two picks 61 accompanied by stepwise rotation of the winding beam.After the determination of the position of the picks by known length measurement of the ribbon coil, the winding beam 11 is longitudinally displaced until the laying device 31 comes to the position in front of the next gathering member 24, whereupon the displacement movement of the winding beam 11 is terminated. Then, the ribbon focussing device 47 is actuated and the winding beam 11 is rotated until the ribbon section 33 extending between the two aforementioned gathering members is caught up by the yarn ribbon guide recess 44 and by further rotation of the winding beam 11 is drawn inwardly into the yarn threading slot 42.There then follows the winding of a new ribbon coil 32, with the winding of this and all the further gathering members 24 being able to take place automatically as a result of the measurement of the length of the first wound ribbon coil 32 and corresponding control of the displacement and winding processes, including the cross-picking.

The yarn gathering apparatus shown in Figs. 1 2 to 1 5 corresponds basically to the gathering machine 10 which is illustrated to a large extent in Fig. 1. Additionally however, there is here provided a rewinding device 14' which carries the warp beam 1 5 on which the yarns from the gathering members 24 are rewound. From Fig. 13 it can be seen that in the machine frame 1 6 of the gathering machine 10 there is integrated a support frame 70 which can be moved with the machine frame 1 6 in the direction of the arrow 71 shown in Fig. 12, while the slide rest 1 9 maintains its relative position in relation to the bobbin yarn supply frame 13 and in relation to the rewinding device 14'.It can also be seen from Fig. 1 3 that a number of winding beams 11 (four winding beams are shown) are arranged above one another within the support frame 70. These winding beams 11 can be brought vertically in sequence into a winding position in front of the yarn laying device 31, so that the uppermost winding beam 11 adopts the position shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 13 when the lowermost winding beam 11 is positioned in front of the yarn laying device 31.

After the winding on of all the winding beams 11, these beams are again moved downwards, after which, first of all, all the ribbons of one winding beam at a time are warped on to the warp beam 15. Before the rewinding takes place by means of the rewinding device 14' the yarns run from the winding beams 11 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 13 over the guide roller 64 and the rerouting roller 65, between which rollers there may be provided a yarn-treating device 66 which is shown only schematically in Fig. 13. It will therefore be appreciated that the rewinding device 14' can also be arranged at a greater distance from the support frame 70 and from the gathering machine 1 6 if this is desirable, for example for the purpose of treating the yarn.

Fig. 14 shows that all the winding beams 11 are arranged one above another in such a way that the wound widths 36 of their respective gathering members 24 fully cover the winding width of the warp beam 15. Each winding beam 11 is rotatably mounted at its two ends by a clamping device of known type which is not shown in the drawing.

The movement of each winding beam 11 is braked by a braking device 72 which is shown only schematically and by means of which one achieves the yarn tension necessary for the rewinding process.

In the winding position of a winding beam 11 in front of the yarn laying device 31, there is a coupling between the relevant winding beam 11 and the rotary drive of the winding beam 11 which is shown schematically in Fig. 1 5. This coupling is likewise known per se and has therefore not been shown in detail.

In order to bring each winding beam 11 into the winding position in front of the yarn laying device 31 there is provided a transfer device which essentially comprises a sliding friction bearing 74 by means of which a slide shoe 75 connected to one end of the winding beam 11 can slide in a slipway 76 of the support frame 70. The adjustment movements of the slide shoe 75 are effected by threaded spindles 77 which are connected to each other by force-transmitting means, for example in the upper transverse beam 78 of the support frame 70, and are driven by an electric motor which is arranged at that location but which is not shown. Accordingly, the winding beam 11 can be moved upwards in the direction of the arrow 79 to the extent necessary, and, after being wound, can be moved downwards in the opposite direction.

Claims (19)

1. Yarn gathering apparatus, particularly for patterned warps and short warps, comprising a gather machine which has a plurality of winding beams to be wound with yarn successively and which are each arranged to be wound ribbonwise, and a rewinding device which is arranged to rewind the yarns from the wound winding beams on to a single warp beam, in which the winding beams are each provided over a width corresponding substantially to that of the warp beam with a plurality of gathering members arranged spaced from each other and each delimited by side plates which are adjustably spaced from each other, each gathering member being arranged to take up a ribbon, and in which the winding widths of all the gathering members taken together cover the winding width of the warp beam.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which each winding beam comprises an axial shaft on which a plurality of pairs of side plates are adjustably mounted, one plate of each pair comprising a radial flange on a sleeve seated on the shaft and the other plate of each pair being adjustably secured to said sleeve.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the gathering machine comprises a control device for longitudinal relative displacement of the winding beam and a yarn laying device which effects the ribbon-wise feeding of the yarns, the yarn laying device being arranged to wind a yarn ribbon automatically on to all the gathering members of a winding beam in sequence.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the yarn laying device comprises a pair of yarn guide rollers carried on a slide and having a width determined by the plate spacing, each of the gathering members being positionable in front of said pair of yarn guide rollers, and the yarn laying device co-operating with a ribbon focussing device.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the ribbon focussing device comprises a pivotable arm which, for ribbon winding, is arranged in front of the ribbon in the direction of relative displacement of the yarn ribbon, and which, for transfer of the ribbon to the next gathering member, can be pivoted into the yarn path to bunch the yarn.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which at least one plate of each pair of side plates has a yarn ribbon guide recess delimited in the circumferential direction of the plate by catching lugs, and in which that side plate of each pair which is foremost in the direction of relative displacement of the yarn ribbon has a threading slot extending towards the centre of the gathering member.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the gathering machine and the winding beams are arranged substantially parallel to the yarn sheet delivered thereto, in which the yarn sheet passes through a rerouting device provided shortly before the yarn laying device, said rerouting device comprising a reed arranged at a small angle of inclination to the perpendicular to the winding beam axis, the reed including transverse wires arranged above one another in the direction of yarn travel.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which the reed is pivotable about a vertical axis.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the rerouting device is formed as a crosspicking device, said reed is formed as a lease reed which is adjustable as to its height, and its said transverse wires are movable away from the reed for the insertion of vertically movable, yarnconcentrating guide rods.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, in which the picking device co-operates with a gripping device which traverses one or more sheds and by means of which picks are laid through the warp.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, in which the gripping device is arranged on one side of the yarn ribbon and the picks are taken under automatic control from a yarn supply positioned on the other side of the yarn ribbon.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the rewinding device comprises a delivery frame which receives all the winding beams and in which the gathering members are arranged offset relative to one another in such a manner that they cover the winding width of the warp beam.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which the yarns are delivered to the warp beam over a guide roller which is positioned at the same distance from each of the winding beams.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which one winding beam with its ribbon-wise wound yarn is held by a bearing frame co-operating with the rewinding device.

1 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, in which all the winding beams are arranged jointly in the bearing frame and are transferred in sequence by a transfer device into a winding position which is predetermined in relation to the gathering machine.

1 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, in which all the winding beams are arranged vertically above one another in the bearing frame and the total of gathering members with their wound widths fully cover the winding width of the warp beam.

1 7. A method of gathering yarn, particularly for the making of patterned warps and short warps, in which a plurality of winding beams are wound one after another in ribbon-wise manner and their yarns are subsequently rewound on to a single warp beam, in which the ribbons are wound on to each of the winding beams at spaced locations along the winding beam, each winding beam being substantially as long as the warp beam, and, between each pair of ribbons, ribbon sections are produced which bridge the gaps and by means of which all the ribbons of a winding beam can be warped jointly on to the warp beam.

1 8. Yarn gathering apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

19. A method of gathering yarn substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.