GB2222417A

GB2222417A - Stripping yarns from bobbins

Info

Publication number: GB2222417A
Application number: GB8919975A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernest Patchett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-09-02
Filing date: 1989-09-04
Publication date: 1990-03-07
Also published as: GB8919975D0; GB8821681D0

Abstract

A yarn stripper device (10) for removing waste synthetic yarn from a tubular yarn holder (11), comprises a housing (13) having an inlet (14) for receiving the yarn holders (11), a traveller (34) engagable with the yarn holder (11) and operable to move the yarn holder along a yarn stripping path (16) in the housing, a rotary saw (18) arranged in the housing alongside the path (16) and operable to cut at least partly through the yarn on the holder as the yarn holder moves along the path but without making any appreciable contact with the outer periphery of the holder, and a heated blade (19) arranged in the housing alongside the path (16) and downstream of the rotary saw which operates to cut through any residual yarn on the holder and to have a cutting action located closer to the outer periphery of the holder than that of the saw. <IMAGE>

Description

YARN STRIPPER This invention relates to a yarn stripper device for removing unused yarn from a yarn holder tube.

In the textile industry, "tubes are used to hold different types of yarn, and at the end of a particular weaving operation. there are often substantial quantities of unused yarn remaining on many of the tubes. This yarn represents a valuable resource which is capable of being re-cycled, but at present the removing of the yarn is often obtained by unsophisticated manual methods involving manual manipulation and the use of a sharp blade or cutter.

This is a tedious and time consuming task, and involves the risk of both injury to the operative and also of scarring, scratching or other unacceptable surface deformation of the tube which may render the tube unsuitable for re-use.

Some designs of tube are manufactured relatively cheaply from plastics or cardboard, and therefore only limited cycles of re-use are acceptable. However, tubes used to hold yarn of fine denier nylon or other synthetic yarns are made of specially formed aluminium to meet the requirements of the weaving loom. and are therefore much more expensive to produce.

At present. even these expensive tubes have unused yarn stripped from them by simple application of a knife and inevitably this results, after a number of stripping operations, in the formation of cuts and grooves in the surface of the tube, which is made of aluminium and is therefore a relatively soft material. Eventually, the surface deformation becomes such as to require complete scrapping of the tube, which is an expensive item not manufactured on a disposable basis.

The present invention has therefore been developed primarily, though not exclusively, with a view to provide a yarn stripper device which is capable of stripping unused nylon (or other synthetic material) yarn from a tubular yarn holder in a way which minimises the risk of unacceptable surface scoring or marking of the outer periphery of the holder.

According to the invention there is provided a yarn stripper device for removing unused synthetic yarn from a tubular yarn holder. the device comprising: a housing having an inlet for receiving said yarn holder; a traveller engagable with the yarn holder and operable to move the yarn holder along a yarn stripping path in the housing: a rotary saw arranged in the housing alongside said path and operable to cut at least partly through the yarn on the holder as the yarn holder moves along said path, but not to make any appreciable contact with the outer periphery of the holder; and, a heated blade arranged in the housing alongside said path and downstream of said rotary saw, said blade being operable to cut through any residual yarn on the holder and to have a cutting action located closer to the outer periphery of the holder than that of the saw.

Thus. in use of the device, the rotary saw is able to apply an initial stripping action to the unused yarn. and when there is a substantial volume of yarn on the holder this will therefore usually remove the major part of the unused yarn. The heated blade is then able to strip the residual material. mainly by virtue of its heating action, as it engages the turns of yarn. and the blade-can therefore be arranged closer to the outer surface of the holder, or even engage smoothly therewith, substantially without risk of causing damage to the surface of the holder.

Bearing in mind that holders for yarn made of nylon or other synthetic material (and therefore readily heat shearable) are often expensive and therefore not manufactured on a disposable basis. the yarn holder represents a re-usable resource which is even more significant than the recovered yarn. which itself of course is a considerable renewable resource.

Preferably, a catching receptacle is arranged to receive stripped yarn as it falls under gravity from the holder, and this collecting action may be improved by the formation of a suction chamber below the path of travel of the holder.

Conveniently, the path of travel terminates in a gravity discharge arrangement whereby the stripped holder then falls under gravity into its own collecting receptable Preferably. a magazine arrangement is mounted on the housing and arranged to deliver yarn holders one by one to the inlet under gravity action. A lifting device may be arranged at the inlet to carry out a linear reciprocating path of movement between a holder receiving position at the inlet and a delivery position in the path of the travelling carriage so that a holder carried by the lifting device can be engaged and then carried forward along the path of travel by the travelling carriage.

One embodiment of yarn stripper device according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the yarn stripper device; Figure 2 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrow X in Figure 1: Figure 3 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrow Y in Figure 1: and.

Figure 4a to 4d are schematic views showing in more detail the construction and sequence of operation of the components shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings. a yarn stripper device according to the invention is designated generally by reference 10 and serves to remove unused synthetic yarn, such as nylon, from a tubular yarn holder 11. Unused turns of yarn 12 are shown on the holder 11.

The device 10 comprises a housing 13 having an inlet 14 for receiving an individual yarn holder 11, and a magazine arrangement 15 is mounted on the housing 13, as shown in Figure 2, so as to deliver tubular holders 11 singly to the inlet 14 under gravity action.

A traveller (not shown in detail in Figure 1) is arranged in the housing and is engagable with each yarn holder 11 and is operable to move the yarn holder along a yarn stripping path in the housing which is designated by the dashed line 16 in Figure 1. A lifter device 17 is arranged in the housing 13 at the inlet 14, and is capable of carrying out a vertical reciprocating path of movement between a holder receiving position, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and a raised delivery position in the path of the travelling carriage for engagement thereby and forward movement along the path of travel 16.

A rotary saw 18 is arranged in the housing alongside the path 16 and is operable to cut at least partly through the turns of yarn 12 on the holder 11 as the yarn holder moves along the path 16. The arrangement of the saw 18 relative to the path 16 is such that the cutting action of the saw does not make any appreciable contact with the outer periphery of the holder 11.

A heated blade 19 which is spring urged to an operative position is arranged in the housing alongside the path 16 and downstream of the saw 18, and operates to cut through any residual yarn on the holder 11. The cutting action of the blade 19 is located closer to the outer periphery of the holder 11 than that of the saw 18, and indeed can make smooth contact with this outer surface, without damage to the surface.

Stripped yarn material 20 falls under gravity from the tube 11 into a suction chamber 21 and then into a collecting receptacle 22.

At the end of the path of travel 16, there is arranged a gravity discharge arrangement (not shown in detail) whereby the stripped holder, designated by reference ila falls under gravity into its own collecting receptable 23.

A guide plate 24 guides the gravity discharge of the stripped yarn holders from the housing 13 through an outlet and into receptacle 23.

The disclosed embodiment of yarn stripper device 10 is therefore able readily to strip unused yarn from a yarn, holder. and substantially without any damage being caused to the outer surface of the holder, and this is therefore particularly advantageous when expensive precision manufactured yarn holders require unused yarn stripping therefrom. The embodiment therefore enables the unused yarn to be recycled. and the yarn holders to be rewound with yarn for further use.

Figures 4a to 4d show the operation components of the device in more detail, and the sequence of operation.

In Figure 4a. there is shown yarn holders 30 bearing unused yarn 33 loaded in an in-feed magazine 31 which feeds the holders individually to a lifting platform 32 which can raise each holder to the raised position shown by reference 30a. The holder is then gripped by tubular grippers 34, as shown in Figure 4b, and then moved linearly to the stripping station shown in Figure 4c. A rotary cutter disc 35 removes the major portion of the unused yarn 33 which falls into a suction hopper 37. and a heated cutter 36 then removes any residual unused yarn on the holder which is not removed by the cutter disc 35.

The stripped holder 30 then passes to the discharge station, shown in Figure 4d, where it is released by the grippers 34. and allowed to fall under gravity to a discharge chute or the like.

Claims

1. A yarn stripper device for removing unused synthetic yarn from a tubular yarn holder, the device comprising: a housing having an inlet for receiving said yarn holder; a traveller engagable with the yarn holder and operable to move the yarn holder along a yarn stripping path in the housing; a rotary saw arranged in the housing alongside said path and operable to cut at least partly through the yarn on the holder as the yarn holder moves along said path, but not to make any appreciable contact with the outer periphery of the holder: and, a heatable blade arranged in the housing alongside said path and downstream of said rotary saw, said blade being operable to cut through any residual yarn on the holder and to have a cutting action located closer to the outer periphery of the holder than that of the saw.

2. A yarn stripper device according to Claim 1. in which a catching receptacle is arranged to receive stripped yarn as it falls under gravity from the holder.

3. A yarn holder according to Claim 2, in which the catching receptacle comprises a suction hopper.

4. A yarn stripper device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the path of travel of the yarn holder terminates in a gravity discharge arrangement whereby the stripped holder can fall under gravity into its own collecting receptable.

5. A yarn stripper device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a magazine arrangement is mounted on the housing and arranged to deliver yarn holders one by one to the inlet under gravity action.

6. A yarn stripper device according to Claim 5. in which a lifting device is arranged at the inlet to carry out a linear reciprocating path of movement between a holder receiving position at the inlet and a delivery position in the path of the travelling carriage so that a holder carried by the lifting device can be engaged and then carried forward along the path of travel by the travelling carriage.

7. A yarn stripper device according to Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawing.