GB2124262A - Automatic bobbin changing on a continuous spinning frame - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus is suitable for a frame for spinning large metric counts and comprises gripping heads (8) for gripping the tubes and means (28, 29) acting on the heads to cause them selectively to grip and release the tubes. The heads are mounted on a carriage (11) movable up and down on a track (110). In operation, a creel (15) and chute (18) are retracted to their broken lines positions and the gripper heads (8) are lowered to grip the full bobbins in the lower part of the machine. The carriage rises again, the chute (18) is advanced and the full bobbins are dropped onto the chute. The chute is retracted again while the creel (15) is moved back to its full line position to present empty tubes (16) to the gripper heads. After the tubes (16) have been gripped and the creel (15) has been retracted again, the carriage (11) moves down to position the empty tubes (16) on the spindles. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for automatic bobbin changing on a continuous spinning frame The present invention concerns continuous spinning frames for spinning large metric counts and more particularly an apparatus for automatic bobbin changing, that is to say, an apparatus for removing the full bobbins and replacing them by empty spools or tubes.

It is known that the apparatuses for automatic bobbin changing on continuous spinning frames for spinning large counts, which are known at the present time, only provide for a kind of semichanging operation, that is to say, they only remove the full bobbins, without setting the empty tubes in position on the spindles from which the full bobbins are thus removed. In addition, the means for severing the yarns or threads before the operation of changing the full bobbins almost never operates correctly.

In addition, it is known that there have long been automatic bobbin changing apparatuses on continuous spinning frames referred to as 'small count' spinning frames, which therefore have small bobbins to be removed and replaced, but the situation is completely different in regard to large counts. In fact, it is not possible purely and simply to transpose the existing apparatuses, for dealing with fine yarns, to the machines for coarse yarns, by increasing the sizes of the components or by making them stronger. Small mechanisms which hitherto could for example be housed under the machine can no longer be disposed in that position since all the dimensions are increased, giving rise to the necessity for them to be housed or positioned elsewhere.

Thus, the spacing between bobbins on a continuous spinning frame for spinning fine yarns always made it possible, hitherto, for the spools which are in a waiting condition to be disposed between the full bobbins, which is no longer possible on a continuous spinning frame for spinning coarse yarns since in that case the spacing is such as to permit only the full bobbin to be disposed at that location, and not the spool which is in a waiting condition.

In addition, having regard to the large sizes of the bobbins for coarse yarns and the entire arrangement which is called upon to handie them, the basic principles which are used in regard to fine yarns can no longer be applied.

The object of the present invention is therefore to avoid the above-indicated disadvantages and in particular to provide an automatic bobbin changing apparatus for continuous spinning frames for spinning large counts, with all the mechanisms and adaptations that that requires.

For that purpose, the invention provides an automatic bobbin changing apparatus on a machine for spinning large counts, for effecting a complete change operation by removing the full bobbins and also repositioning the empty tubes on the spindles, the apparatus comprising gripping heads for gripping the tubes, means acting on the heads to cause them selectively to grip and release the tubes, means for removing full bobbins released by the heads, means for presenting the empty tubes to the gripping heads, a carriage carrying the gripping heads and movable upwardly and downwardly to effect removal of the gripped full bobbins, take the empty tubes and displace them to position them on the spindles from which bobbins have been removed, and the said means for presenting comprising a creel which contains the empty tubes and which is retractible by pivotal movement about an axis in the upper part of the frame structure, causing it to move from a position of presentation of the empty tubes to the heads to a retracted position.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a gripping head of pneumatic type comprises two arms, one of which is fixed and immovable while the other which is mounted for siiding movement is sandwiched at its bent end, between two inflatable tubular casings which are capable of receiving compressed air alternately depending on the phases of the cycle of operations.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings which are part of the description, showing an embodiment of the invention by way of nonlimiting example. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a view in cross-section of a continuous spinning frame provided with the automatic bobbin changing apparatus according to the invention; for the purposes of compliance with the rules concerning the format sizes, the view shown in Figure 1 has been divided into an upper part A and a lower part B, which are connected along line C-C; Figure 2 shows a front view of the mechanism for controlling the pusher member; Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the mechanism of the gripping heads, and Figure 4 is a view in section taken along line lV-IV in Figure 3.

Figure 1 makes it possible to understand how the apparatus according to the invention operates in a manner which provides for a complete cycle, that is to say, which, by virtue of the gripping heads, not only provides for removal of the full bobbins but also the step of setting empty tubes in position on the spindles to replace the full bobbins which have been removed from the spindles.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a full bobbin, 2 denotes the yarn or thread delivered by the drawing system 3; 4 is the yarn guide, 5 is the anti-balloon means, 6 is the ring carrier bar, 7 is the pusher means, that is to say, the bar which releases the bobbins 1 so that there is no resistance when the gripping heads 8 are required to grip them.

The drive for the bobbins is controlled by the assembly comprising the drum 9 and the belts 10.

The gripping heads 8, the construction and the mode of operation of which will be described in greater detail hereinafter, are carried by a carraige 11 which is actuated in its upward and downward movement by a small motor (not shown) disposed in the top part of the machine, the drive movement being transmitted by a belt 12 secured to the carraige 11 which is guided by a rail 110 on which rollers 13 run. The end of the belt 12 is gripped in a clamping member 1 20 connected to a right-angled member 121 by a device 123 for adjusting the travel of the carriage 11, the member 121 being secured to the carriage 11.

Provided in the upper part of the machine is a creel 1 5 containing empty tubes 16. The creel 15 is retractible by a pivotal movement about an axis 46 on the upper part of the frame structure of the apparatus, causing it to go from the position 1 5 shown in solid lines to the position 15' shown in dash-dotted lines.

The tube carrier creel 1 5 is actuated by link members 1 7a and 1 7b. Disposed on the pivot spindle 1 7c of the iink member 1 7a is a lever which is actuated by a jack which is controlled by a switch, in regard to the different times at which it is to be operative.

When the full bobbins 1 are freed by the gripping head 8, they drop onto a removal ramp 18 and slide on to a conveyor belt or roller track 19 which takes them away to the end of the machine. The ramp 18 which rests on the creel 1 5 moves into the position indicated at 18' when the creel is retracted to the position 15'.

Triggering of the commencement of the cycle of operations is effected by stoppage, that is to say, the end of the braking phase, of the machine, after the sub-operation of winding on the cops. At that moment, a switch initiates the operating cycle.

From that moment, the entire cycle takes place by successive switching operations, that is to say, after each operation, a fresh switch is reached, which controls the following operation, and so on.

The assembiy therefore constitutes a programmer.

At the end of the cycle, everything is stopped, that is to say, the machine and the cycle. It is only after the empty tubes have been correctly positioned on the spindles that the operator himself starts the machine operating again.

The cycle is as follows: the creel 15 carrying the empty tubes 16 is in the retracted or withdrawn position 15', the yarn guides 4 are raised, the ring carrier member 6 and the anti-balloon means 5 are raised, the carriage 11 carrying the heads 8 is moved down in an empty condition to a bottom position 11', the pusher member 7 is raised to position 7', the arms 8a and 8b which are positioned one against the other, in the gripping head 8, engage freely into the tubes of the bobbins 1, one of the arms 8b of the head 8 moves away from the arm 8a so that the full bobbin 1 is firmly gripped, the pusher member 7 is moved downwardly, the ring carrier member 3 is moved downwardly, the carriage 11 carrying the gripping heads with the full bobbins 1 is raised to the up position as shown in solid lines, the creel 1 5 carrying the empty tubes 1 6 is advanced and therewith the removal ramp 18, the gripping heads 8 free the full bobbins 1 by virtue of the arms of the head being moved away from their spaced-apart position; the bobbins fall on to the removal ramp 18 and slide on to the conveyor 1 9 which takes them to the end of the machine.

the creel 1 5 moves back to the position 15' with its removal ramp 18', in order to free the space into which the gripping heads 8 from which the bobbins have been removed will pass, the carriage 11 moves down into the tube engaging position, that is to say, in such a way that the gripping heads 8 are positioned just above the tubes 16, the creel 1 5 moves forward from position 15' to position 15, to present the tubes to the gripping heads 8, the gripping heads 8 move downwardly a little (position 8') in order to engage their arms, which are in the positon of being moved towards each other, into the empty tubes 16, the gripping heads are then rendered active by moving the arms thereof away from each other and the empty tubes 1 6 are thus firmly locked by the pressure applied to the inside wall surfaces thereof, the creel 1 5 withdraws to the position indicated at 15' and the empty tubes, being engaged by the gripping heads, are disengaged from the creel, the carriage 11 moves downwardly with the empty tubes 1 6 into the position 5', that is to say, the position corresponding to the beginning of engagement of the tubes 1 6 with the initiating head 25, the gripping heads 8 are then rendered inoperative by reducing the spacing between the arms thereof and the tubes 16 drop on to the spindles, and the carriage 11 carrying the gripping heads is raised into the up position again.

The machine is thus ready for a fresh cycle.

During operation of the machine, the creel 1 5 which is still in the withdrawn or retracted position 15' is manually reloaded with empty tubes 16.

Such a construction has many advantages, apart from those which are already known, and which are inherent in all automatic bobbin changing apparatuses, such as a saving in time, a saving in labour and therefore an increase in the level of efficiency and output of the machine: since the bobbins which are to be removed are large and therefore heavy, the fact that the labour force no longer needs to handle them means that a serious source of fatigue is removed and the labour force can therefore be used elsewhere; by virtue of the automatic bobbin changing apparatus, the bobbins are involved in fewer handling operations than in the manual changing operation, which preserves them from many malformations and even damage, and has an advantageous effect on the quality of the yarn and consequently on the finished product; and by virtue of a 'large count' machine being fitted with an automatic bobbin changing apparatus, it can acquire the same flexibility-in operation, in production, in changing parts, in other words, in handling and in operation-as that which is already to be found on 'fine count' machines.

The following additional information is set forth, to clarify and give further detail of the description of the above-described cycle: In the course of normal operation of the machine, the yarn guides 4 are disposed just above the spindles 26 and, in the present case, just above the heads 25. In the automatic bobbin changing operation, the bobbins are disengaged and raised to position 1' until their upper ends are substantially higher than the head 25 and in addition the gripping heads 8 come to take the full bobbins at the top.It will be appreciated therefore that the yarn guides 4 cannot remain in their operating position and must be retracted The simplest solution in this case is for them to be raised, that is to say, all the yarn guides are mounted on a shaft which extends along the frame structure and, by virtue of rotary movement of the shaft, they are all moved upwardly, which is referred to as the condition in which the yarn guides are raised. When the bobbin changing operation has been performed and the empty tubes are in place, the yarn guides are returned to their operating positions.

As regards breaking the yarn when removing the full bobbin, the portion of yarn which is to break is between the disc members 33 and 34. In order for the yarn severing operation to take place in a reliable manner, the members 33 and 34 are provided with notches or gaps over their entire periphery so that the yarn is caught and severed therein when the member 34 moves upwardly with the bobbin 1 and the member 33 remains stationary.

As regards the mechanism for actuating the pusher member 7, that is to say, the bar member which releases the bobbins 1 so that there is no resistance when the gripping heads 8 are required to take the bobbins, it operates in the following manner (see Figure 2).

The jack 38, the piston 39 of which is fixed to the member 40 that is secured with respect to the angle member 41 acts on the ramp member 42 which is also fixed on the angle member 41. A roller 43 which is fixed with respect to the pusher bar member 7 by way of the rod or bar member 44 rests on the ramp member 42.

Thus, when the jack 38 pulls the ramp member 42 towards it, the pusher member 7 rises and, when the jack 38 pushes the ramp member 42 away, the pusher member 7 moves downwardly, which permits the pusher member 7 to carry out the following cycle or operation: (a) release the full bobbins 1 from the spindles 26; (b) break the yarns 2; (c) cause the bobbins 1, at least at the top thereof, to go beyond the heads 25; (d) raise the bobbins 1 to a given height, in order to (e) present them to the gripping heads 8.

When the gripping heads 8 have taken the bobbins 1, the pusher member 7 returns to its down position by movement in the opposite direction of the piston 39, angle member 41, ramp member 42, roller 43 and member 44.

The mechanism of the gripping heads 8 (see Figures 3 and 4) is of the following design: The cradle 27 contains the tubular casings 28 and 29 which sandwich therebetween the arm 8b, which is bent through a rightangle, of the gripping head 8. The arm 8a of the gripping head 8 is fixed and immovable. The arm 8b of the gripping head 8 is movable and is slidable in the direction indicated by the arrow 30; it is held and guided by screws 31 and washers 32.The tubular casings 28 and 29 receive compressed air and thus, when the casing 29 is under pressure, the casing 28 is no longer under pressure, and the arm 8b of the head 8 moves towards the arm 8a of the head 8, whereby the head is maintained in an inoperative position; when the tubular casing 28 receives compressed air, the tubular casing 29 releases the air therein and the arm 8b of the head 8 moves away to position 8b1 (see Figure 4), from the arm 8a of the head 8, whereby the head 8 is maintained in an operative position, that is to say, it holds the bobbin 1 by the tube 16. To return the gripping head 8 to the inoperative position, pressure is restored in the tubular casing 29 and the pressure in the tubular casing 28 is released, and so on.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated; modifications may be made therein, depending on the uses envisaged, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (2)

Claims

1. An automatic bobbins changing apparatus on a machine for spinning large counts, for effecting a complete change operation by removing the full bobbins and also repositioning the empty tubes on the spindles, the apparatus comprising gripping heads for gripping the tubes, means acting on the heads to cause them selectively to grip and release the tubes, means for removing full bobbins released by the heads, means for presenting the empty tubes to the gripping heads, a carriage carrying the gripping heads and movable upwardly and downwardly to effect removal of the gripped full bobbins, take the empty tubes and displace them to position them on the spindles from which bobbins have been removed, and the said means for presenting comprising a creel which contains the empty tubes and which is retractible by pivotal movement about an axis in the upper part of the frame structure, causing it to move from a position of presentation of the empty tubes to the heads to a retracted position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each gripping head comprises two arms, one arm being fixed and the other arm being mounted for sliding movement with a bent end sandwiched between two inflatable tubular casings which are capable of receiving compressed air alternately to effect the selective gripping and releasing.