539,776. Winding thread. SCHARER, K. J., [trading as MACHINENFABRIK SCHARER]. Nov. 27, 1939, Nos. 30837 and 30838. Convention dates, March 1, and April 6. [Class 120 (ii)] In a thread winding machine having a number of winding spindles mounted in a rotatable supporting member and automatically actuated to move a full bobbin from the winding position and supply an empty bobbin thereto, the bobbin at the winding position is held between a driving spindle and a counterhead and the counterhead and the usual thread feeler are rendered inoperative by means of a slide when a bobbin is completed and are rendered operative again after an empty bobbin has been fed into the winding position ; the slide may be automatically actuated and may be provided with members which permit a thread reserve to be wound at the base of the empty bobbin at the winding position. As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 7, the empty bobbins are held in holders 3 on winding spindles in the rotatable disc 5 and at the winding position, the head 3 is coupled to the driving spindle 2 and the bobbin 4 is held between the head 3 and a counterhead 8 axially adjustable in a bracket 9 movable on a rod 10 against the action of a spring 11 which forces the counterhead into engagement with the bobbin to be wound. The end of the rod 10 is carried by a yoke 12 connected to rods 13, 14 and carrying guide rods 15, 16, the thread feeler 17, having a rotatable ring 18 engaging the winding on the bobbin, being fixed to the rod 16 and having a lug 171 slidably engaging the rod 15. The rod 16 engages the bore of the hollow cam actuated traversing rod 19 and is normally coupled thereto by a spring-pressed sleeve 22 having an inner conical surface which forces balls 23, located in holes in the rod 19, into engagement with the rod 16 and at the end of each traverse the sleeve contacts with an adjustable stop to cause the rod 16 to be disconnected from the rod 19 against the action of the spring 20 and fed along it by the contact of the ring 18 with the windings on the bobbin. The rod 16 is also disconnected from the traversing rod at the completion of a bobbin and the feeler moved out of engagement with the thread on the bobbin by a pawl 25 pivoted on the slide 28 which is actuated by a connecting rod 31 coupled to a crank 32 which is given a revolution when the bobbin is completed and causes the pawl to ride up a pin 26 on the rod 16 until a notch in the pawl engages the pin and moves the rod and feeler to the inoperative position ; at the same time an arm 36 on the slide engages the counterhead 8 and moves it against the action of the spring 11 to release the completed bobbin, and another arm 34 on the slide meets the winding thread still passing through the guide 35 on the thread feeler, moves it out of the guide and into a cavity 341 in the arm. The disc 5 then rotates to move an empty bobbin into line with the driving spindle and the slide returns to its position of rest ; during this movement the thread feeler is moved by the pawl 25 to its initial operative position where the pawl is disengaged from the rod 16 by reason of its end 25<SP>1</SP> contacting with a stop 29, the thread is moved out of the cavity 341 on the arm 34 into the thread guide 35 and the arm 36 releases the counterhead 8 which then engages the empty bobbin in the winding position. In the modification in which a thread reserve is wound on the base of the empty bobbin at the winding position the connecting rod 31 is resiliently connected by a spring 43 to the crank 32 so that damage due to any jamming of the parts is prevented and the slide 28, Figs. 8 and 9, carries a casing 44 on an axle 45 with a cover 46 to which one end of a spiral spring 48 is connected ; the other end of the spring is connected to a gear 49 rotatably mounted on the axle 45 and gearing with a pinion 57 on the axle of a driven gear 511 when the slide nears the end of its return movement the slide then stopping, the spring 43 becoming compressed, and the gear 49 being rotated to energize the spring 48 and bring a recess 491 in the gear into register with the pinion 51 when the spring 43 completes the return movement of the slide and during the time the return of the slide is interrupted a thread reserve is wound at the base of the empty bobbin which has been moved into the winding position. When the ordinary winding is completed, the slide is advanced by the crank 32 and the gear 49 moves out of engagement with the pinion 51 and is rotated by the spring 48 until a stud 50 thereon encounters a bolt 47 on the cover 46, the length of the thread reserve being adjusted by rotating the cover 46 and varying the position of the bolt 47. The cover is normally locked by a spring pressing one of a number of recesses therein into engagement in the screw projecting from the casing, the position of the recesses being indicated by divisions on the cover and the divisions giving an indication of the length of thread reserve to be wound. The slide 28 also carries a pivoted lever 56 influenced by a torsion spring and having two notches 56<SP>1</SP>, 5611, a stop 58 on the slide determining the position of the lever so that the notch 561 guides the thread being wound as the reserve after it has been taken out of the thread guide 35 by the notch 56<SP>11</SP> and a stop 59 on the machine frame rocking the lever against the action of the torsion spring when the slide has completed its return movement to release the thread for engagement by the thread guide 35.