GB2248458A

GB2248458A - Coiler silver can changing

Info

Publication number: GB2248458A
Application number: GB9025800A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Smith
Original assignee: Hollingsworth GmbH
Current assignee: Hollingsworth GmbH
Priority date: 1990-11-28
Filing date: 1990-11-28
Publication date: 1992-04-08
Also published as: GB9025800D0

Abstract

A movable suction nozzle 6 takes up the length of sliver S linking a departing filled sliver can 4 with a newly arrived filling sliver can 2, whereby during movement of the nozzle between position 6a overhanging the filling can 2 and a position 6b free of the path of departure of the filled can 4 firstly the sliver linking the nozzle to the full can 4 is severed by snatching it with the nozzle and secondly the sliver linking the nozzle to the filling can 2 is severed by snatching it with the nozzle. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO COILER SLIVER CAN CHANGING The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for can change-over for use with a sliver coiling mechanism in which a can which has just been filled with coiled sliver is automatically removed and exchanged by an empty can without any interruption in the delivery of sliver to the coiler.

The invention is applicable to coilers in which the can orbits relative to a rotating coiler head in order to cause the desired cycloidal coil formation within the can.

It is known to provide a carousel for delivering an empty can to replace a full can at a sliver coiler, and for that exchange of cans to take place automatically.

With prior art automatic can changers it has been necessary to sever at the coiler head the sliver length linking the fresh can to the full can being removed from the coiler, otherwise the sliver will unwind from both cans as the full can is taken further away from the now effective empty can. Traditionally such a severing action has customarily been achieved manually, but the use of automatic shear knife in the coiler head is known, as is the use of a snatching action by lifting the trumpet ahead of the sliver delivery rollers to sever the sliver.

With increasing throughput rates of cards delivering condensed sliver to a coiler, and consequently more rapid coiler sliver deposition rates, it is no longer feasible to rely on manual operation, particularly in the case where the coiler relies on rotating the can to achieve the desired cycloidal coil build-up of sliver in the can being filled.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coiler in which severing of the length of sliver between the empty can being filled and the full can being removed can be achieved without manual intervention.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a can changer for a sliver coiler, comprising:means for introducing a fresh can to the coiler for sliver deposition therein; means for removing a filled can from the coiler for onward movement; a suction nozzle effective to swing between a first position clear of the path of departure of a full can being removed by said removal means, and an operative position in which it lies over a can into which sliver can be deposited, the arrangement being such that during movement between said inoperative position and said second position the nozzle inlet end passes by both a departing can and the next successive can on the can changer; and means for applying suction to said nozzle to entrain the length of sliver joining two successive cans on the can changer, for severing the sliver length.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of exchanging sliver cans for a sliver coiler, comprising removing a full can from the sliver coiler, introducing an empty can to the sliver coiler in place of said full can, entraining the length of sliver linking the departing full can with the rotating empty can by attracting the sliver length into a suction nozzle and then rotating the nozzle away from the full can to snatch the sliver from the full can and to sever it on the nozzle edge, and then moving said nozzle away from the filling can in order to snatch and sever on said nozzle edge the sliver linked to said filling can.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood the following description is given, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 illustrates schematically the sliver can changing action resulting from the can changer in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a top plan view of the can changer carousel and the build-up of sliver on the top of the two cans being exchanged under the coiler head; and Figure 3 shows a side elevation of the top of the full can and the coiler head undersheet.

Figure 1 shows a coiler body 1 in which a can 2 has just been inserted for receiving a cycloidal build-up 3 of sliver, deposited by a sliver deposition head of the coiler, of a type well-known per se. This Figure also shows a full can 4 with a cycloidal build-up of coils 3 of sliver therein being removed from the coiler body 1 as illustrated by the arrow 5. The convolutions of sliver are also illustrated in Figure 3.

A swinging nozzle 6 having a vertical axis of pivoting and a vertical outlet port at a swivel collar 7 (Figure 1) connecting it to a suction hose 8 can swing between a first broken line position 6a in which its suction inlet end 8 is positioned above the cycloidal coil build-up 3 in the fresh filling can 2, and a second extreme position 6k in which it has swung away from the filling can 2 and passed its point of nearest approach to the periphery of the departing filled can 4.

As is conventional the sliver cans 2 and 4 each have a spring biased sliver support plate initially in an uppermost position, and during deposition of sliver on to the plate it becomes pressed downwardly to arrive eventually near the bottom of the can, thereby ensuring that the plane of deposition of the sliver at the top of the build-up remains substantially level with the top rim of the can 2 or 4.

During normal operation of the coiler the nozzle 6 is in its position 6b in which (as shown in Figure 2) it is well clear of the filling can 6. Equally, in this position the nozzle 6 is nowhere near the path of movement of cans entering or leaving the coiler.

Figure 3 shows that on approaching the position 6a the nozzle 6 is able to swing into a clearance between the upper rim 10 of the can 2 and the underside of the undersheet 11 of the coiler head. This Figure also shows that there is a build-up of sliver which projects above the rim 12 of the can 4 and is compressed by the underside of the undersheet 11 as the can 4 moves away from the coiling position to make space for the incoming can 2. As a result of the compressing action of the undersheet 11, the build-up of sliver at the top of the can 4 is held in its correct configuration on the preceding build-up in the can.

In operation of the can changer, by the time the can carousel 14 has rotated through approximately 45" to bring the can 4 to a position mid-way between that illustrated for cans 2 and 4 in Figure 3, the nozzle 6 has moved from its out-of-the-way position 6b to approach the rim 10 of the can 2. On its way it passes by the rim 12 of the full can 4 in position 6c and attracts the build-up of sliver from above the can 4. It begins to draw that sliver into the suction nozzle and the widely pitched convolutions of sliver resting on top of the support plate of the fresh can 2 are transformed into a simple dog leg of sliver between the coiler head position 13 and the periphery of the departing full sliver can 4.

As the nozzle 6 swings further past the can 4 towards the clearance above the fresh can 2, it can remove the surplus convolutions of the sliver bridging the full can 4 and traversing the empty can 2, and can apply tension to them to withdraw them to waste.

Figure 3 shows particularly helpfully the build-up of convolutions as it is being attracted by the suction inlet of the nozzle 6.

As the suction applied to the nozzle draws the convolutions of sliver into the nozzle, the widely pitched array of convolutions between the coiler head position 13 of Figure 3 and the perimeter of the can 4 in Figure 3 will transform to a dog leg run of sliver extending from the coiler head position 13 to the can 4 via the suction inlet of the nozzle 6.

The rapidity of the motion of the suction inlet 9 of the nozzle 6 snatches the attracted sliver and severs it from the build-up in the can 4.

After eventually arriving at the position 6a in the clearance over the can 2, the nozzle 6 then swings back rapidly towards its position 6b, and in doing so it snatches at the sliver being drawn into the suction inlet 9 on the rim of the suction inlet 9 and breaks that sliver to leave a short tail extending across the top of the fresh can 2.

The nozzle 6 may, if desired pause at the position 6a before starting its return motion. During such optional pause the suction may if desired be de-activated.

Finally, the nozzle 6 arrives back in position 6b where it is out-of-the-way and the motion of the carousel will continue until it arrives at the Figure 3 position in which the full can 4 can be removed, for example manually, and the fresh can 2 can continue to acquire a cycloidal build-up due to the rotation of the coiler head and the orbiting of the can 2 about its vertical axis. In the case of a four can carousel the rotation of the carousel from the position of can 2 in Figure 3 to the position of can 4 in Figure 3 will take 904 of rotation.

It will be appreciated that there is no need for separate sliver severing means with the coiler according to the present invention.

The "snatching" action of the nozzle 6 cleanly severs the sliver between the exterior of the coiler head and the nozzle and thus both the full can 4 and the fresh can 2 are left devoid of messy convolutions of sliver which can overhang the rim 10 or 12 of the respective can.

While the above description assumes that the coiler is coiling sliver S which has just been formed from the carded web on carding apparatus, it is of course possible for the coiler to be delivering sliver which has just been doubled from intake slivers delivered from several cans simultaneously.

Although throughout the above description it is indicated that there is a clearance above the empty can 2 into which the nozzle 6 can swing, an alternative possibility is for the can to be lifted and held very close to the undersheet 11 of the coiler whereby the rim of the can just clears the underside of the undersheet 11, and the upwardly biased support plate of the can effectively contacts the underside of the undersheet until the first layer of sliver convolutions has been formed thereon. By having such a reduced clearance between the upper rim 10 of the empty can the severing action of the sliver is even neater than with the embodiments having no such near approach of the can rim to the underside of the undersheet, by virtue of the action of the upwardly biased sliver support plate adjacent the underside of the undersheet causing a pinch point for the sliver. In this embodiment the can is mounted on its turntable at the coiling position with a clearance of the rim from the undersheet 11 but with the upwardly biased support plate in contact with the undersheet 11.

Claims

1. A can changer for a sliver coiler, comprising:- means for introducing a fresh can to the coiler for sliver deposition therein; means for removing a filled can from the coiler for onward movement; a suction nozzle effective to swing between a first position clear of the path of departure of a full can being removed by said removal means, and an operative position in which it lies over a can into which sliver can be deposited, the arrangement being such that during movement between said inoperative position and said second position the nozzle inlet end passes by both a departing can and the next successive can on the can changer; and means for applying suction to said nozzle to entrain the length of sliver joining two successive cans on the can changer, for severing the sliver length.

2. A can changer according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle is pivotal about a vertical axis from said first position to said second position, and back, during a can changer cycle.

3. A coiler incorporating the can changer of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said coiler is a rotating can coiler.

4. A coiler according to claim 3, wherein the coiler is effective to receive and to package sliver delivered from the condenser section of carding apparatus.

5. A coiler according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the nozzle is able to enter a clearance between the underside of the coiler head and the rim of a sliver can under the coiler head upon arriving at said second position.

6. A coiler according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein in the loading position the sliver can has its rim spaced from the underside of the coiler head but its upwardly biased support plate in contact with the underside of the coiler head.

7. A can changer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.

8. A method of exchanging sliver cans for a sliver coiler, comprising removing a full can from the sliver coiler, introducing an empty can to the sliver coiler in place of said full can, entraining the length of sliver linking the departing full can with the rotating empty can by attracting the sliver length into a suction nozzle and then rotating the nozzle away from the full can to snatch the sliver from the full can and to sever it on the nozzle edge, and then moving said nozzle away from the filling can in order to snatch and sever on said nozzle edge the sliver linked to said filling can.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the filling can is rotating during sliver deposition therein and the nozzle swings into a position in which it sits over said rotating can by way of a position in which it crosses the rim of said rotating can to entrain said linking length of sliver.

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said sliver is severed from the full can by snatching it during movement of the nozzle towards the filling can, and wherein the sliver is severed from the filling can by snatching and severing during subsequent movement of the suction nozzle away from the filling can to return to an out-of-the way position.

11. A method of changing sliver cans at a sliver coiler, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.