US1992026A - Thread winding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 19, 1935.

H. s. DRUM E! AL THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 19, 1935. H, s. DRUM El AL 1,992,026

THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Feb. 19, 1935.

H. s. DRUM ET AL 1,992,026

THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR;

ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1935. 5 DRUM E V 1,992,026

THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Feb. 19,1935. HSDRUM L 1,992,026

THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 20, 1932 5 Shefs-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1935 PATENT OFFICE THREAD WINDING MECHANISM Harry 8. Drum, Ablngton, and William C. Dodson, Jenkintown, Pa., assignors to Smith, Drum and Company, Philadelphia, Pa... a corporation of Pennsylvania Application aciaim The present invention relates to thread wind ing machines and more particularly to an improvement in winding mechanism and control therefor.

In devices for winding thread from skeinsonto spools it has heretofore been the quite general practice to transmit the required rotary motion from the driving mechanism to the winding spool by a direct drive to the hubs of such spools and in consequence while the driving speed remains constant, the build-up of the thread upon the spool produces a varying peripheral spool speed. This change of peripheral speed is very undesirable because, production is lowered by reason of the necand the spool package is-not wound uniformly.

In some instances also attempts have been made to overcome the ill effects of varying peripheral speed by driving the spool through friction applied directly to the periphery of the yarn upon the spool but such attempts have been impractical where rayon or other delicate yarns are wound on account of damage resulting from yarn tangles in the skein, or from any other cause which would prevent the yarn from freely feeding from the skein to the spool. The problem therefore which has hitherto remained unsolved is to provide a thread winder which places the yarn upon a spool at a constant speed regardless of the diameter of .the thread mass and to, so deliver the power to the spool that failure of theskein to feed fromthe reel will have no injurious effect upon the yarn, and yarn breakage will bereducedto a minimum. i

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide an improved mechanism for winding yarn upon spools; to provide a winding device wherein the peripheral speed of the yarn mass ing or wearing effects of slipping action; to pro-' vide an automatic release for the driving'means of a winding spool so arranged and constructed that upon an excessive increase in the tension upon the thread being wound, the driving means will cease to operate the winding spool; to pro- October 20, 1932, Serial No. 638,682 Renewed July 13, 1934 vide means for rotating a winding spool by employing a plurality of power transmitting means, one of which is automatically releasable by increase of thread tension beyond a certain maximum; to providemeans for arresting the winding of a thread upon a spool when the spool is fully wound or when the thread breaks; to provide means for automatically removing a spool being wound from the driving means in case the thread being drawn from the reel should break duringthe winding operation; to provide means whereby a completely wound spool is automatically defied; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. l represents a front elevation in part section of a thread winding mechanism embodying one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the same; Fig. 8 represents a detail in plan of the bracket construction; Fig. 4 represents an end elevation of a winding machine equipped with the device of the present invention; Fig. 5 represents a front elevation in part section of a modified form of the invention; Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of amodifled form of the invention showing an automatic dofllng construction; Figure 7 represents aside elevation of another form of the invention whereinthe spool being wound is automatically removed from the winding means when the thread breaks during the winding operation, and Fig. 8 represents a side elevation of a further modification of the invention.

Referring to the drawings one form of the present invention is shown assembled with a winding machine of the type arranged to simultaneously rotate a plurality of winding spools 10 through the medium of driving wheels 11 mounted upon a common power operated shaft 12.. The skeins of yarn 13 are respectively carried by reels 14 and from which each thread is led to its particular spool 10 to be wound thereon after passing through guides 15 of a traverse bar 16 which is reciprocated by suitable mechanism in the desired manner to lay the thread properly upon the spools. Sincethe respective winding parts are the same for all of the spools the present description will be confined to one spool unit and like reference numerals will be applied to like parts in the other units. I r

In the preferred form. of the invention the spool 10 is mounted for rotation with a spindle 17 which is journalled at its ends in bearing slots 18 formed respectively in brackets 20v which are bolted or otherwise made fast. to a fixed part of contact, or in other words this construction makes the machine in such position and relation as to support the spool 10 as required. As here shown each bracket 20 has two bearing slots 18, one at each side so that the ends of two adjacent spindles 1'7 utilize the same bracket, thus promoting compactness, efficiency and economy. Preferably the slots 18 of each bracket 20 are spaced by a web' or partition 21 in order to prevent the interference of one spindle with its neighbor.

Also it is preferred to form each bracket with two bearing guideways 22 arranged back to back for receiving and locating bearing blocks 23 which are arranged to ride freely in the guideways 22 in a predetermined manner and for a purpose presently to be described. In connection with the brackets 20 it should be noted that a socket recess 19 is provided adjacent to each of the slots 18 in order to provide seats for the respective ends of the spool spindle 1'7 and in which the spindle is supported when the spool is removed for any reason. This takes care of the ordinary doffing of the spool by hand after it is wound.

Asa means for causing the spool 10 to rotate to wind the yarn thereon and to do this with a'constant peripheral speed, a driven member 24, such for example as a roller or cylindrical drum, is mounted so as to be in peripheral contact with the periphery of the spool 10 or the thread mass 25 thereon. As here shown the member 24 consists of a cylindrical tubular body having end heads 26 and 27 fastened therein in any suitable way and both supported by a driven shaft 28 for free relative turning movement. The head 26 has an end recess 30 concentric with the shaft 28 for seating one end of a driven hub 31 which transmits motion to the shaft 28 by a pin 32 or equivalent means. In addition to driving the shaft 28, the hub 31 acts as an abutment with which the head 26 has friction contact for driving purposes. The head 27 is likewise provided with a recess 33 on its outer face concentric with the shaft 28 and receives therein a collar 34 which serves as the movable element of a clutch which drives the head 27 by frictional contact therewith. The outer face of the collar 34 is suitably apertured to receive and seat the respective plungers 35 which are arranged to slide respectively in bores 36 of a driven bushing 3'7. Coil springs 38 are located in the respective bores 36 and press the plungers 35 against the collar 34 with a pressure determined by the adjustment of the screws 40 which are threaded into the bores 36 but are accessible from the exposed end ofthe bushing 3'7. The motion of the shaft 28 is transmitted to the bushing 37 by a pin 41 or any other equivalent means. The ends of the shaft 28' are received and supported respectively in the bearing' blocks as will be understood. The hub 31 and the bushing 3'7 ride respectively upon the respective driving wheels 11 and receive motion by frictional contact therewith.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the spool 10 rests by gravity upon the drum or roller 24 and is therefore driven by friction applied perpendicularly to the axis of the spool, while the drum 24 in turn is driven by friction applied parallel to the axis of the spool and this latter friction is arranged .for adjustment and is so set as to release the drum 24 under a lower braking effort applied to the spool 10 than will cause slipping of the drum 24 upon the thread mass. This is important in that it is impossible with this construction for drum 24 to move relative to spool 10 so as to damage' thread by rubbing or chafing it impossible for drum 24 to rotate to any appreciable degree when in contact with spool 10 when and if spool 10 for any reason'ceases to rotate.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 the driving member 24 as well as the hub 31 and bushing 37 are mounted directly upon a driving shaft 42 which takes the place of the shaft 12 with its attached driving wheels 11. Pins 43 and 44 respectively fasten the hub 31 and bushing 3'7 to the shaft 42 for direct drive and the motion of the parts is transmitted by friction pressure to the driven member 24 which in turn operates upon the periphery of the spool 10 or the thread mass 25. This. construction may be advantageously employed where the present invention is assembled in a complete winding machine and it dispenses with a number of unnecessary parts which are now incorporated in winding machines. Thus while the invention is adapted for ready assembly with the present day winding machines having a driving shaft 12 and driving wheels 11, it can equally well be employed and operated directly from the driving shaft 42. In this form of the invention the brackets 20 are similar to those shown in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 except the guideways 22 need not be provided since the spindles 28 are eliminated. y

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6,

one form of automatic dofling means is shown as used in connection with the winding mechanism of Fig. 1 and from which it will be seen that the bracket supporting means for the ends of the spool spindles 1'7 is modified and comprises spaced arms having a substantially vertically disposed slot 51 in each, which slot is-open at the. top to permit the free insertion of the ends of the spindle 17, while providing a slot length sufficient to bring the empty spool into contact with the driven roller 24. Those parts in Fig. 6 which are also on Fig. 1 are identified respectively by the same reference numerals. It will also be understood that there are two arms for each spool provided with the novel dofilng meanshere to be described, but one of which is shown in connection with the associated parts'for purposes of illustration.- The arm 50 is pivoted on a rod 52 preferably extending lengthwise of the machine and supported at suitable intervals in lugs 53 here shown as integral with the bracket body 20. This lug 53 is provided with a side rib 54 designed and arranged to be in the path of movement of' a stop-pin 55 secured to a projection 56 of the arm 50. By this construction the arm 50 can swing counter-clockwise as shown in Fig. 6 until the pin 55 meets the rib 54 where it will hold the arm '50 in its new position which is so removed from the winding mechanism as to insure the spool and its mass being out of contact with the driven roller 24 under'all conditions. In this connection it should benoted that the longitudinal axis of the-slot 51 is slightly to the winding drum side of the pivot 52 so that the weight of the spool and its associated parts will be toward the drum and properly hold the spool in frictional engagement with the face thereof. For the purpose of maintaining this position of the arm 50 during the winding operation a latch 5'7 is pivoted at 58 to the bracket frame 20 and is arranged to coact with and lit about a pin 60 projecting from the inner-side of the arm 50 so that under normal operation the arm 50 can not swing outwardly away from the winding means. This lo cation of the latch .57 brings it into the upward path of movement of the spindle 17 so that when the thread mass reaches a predetermined diameter the spool will have travelled upwardly to a point where the spindle 17 engages the face 61 of the latch 57 and causes it to be lifted and released from the pin 60. -When this occurs the continued pressure of the winding roller 24 against the face of the wound yarn upon the spool will force the latter in a direction away from the drum so that the center of gravity of the spool quickly passes across the vertical plane of the pivot ,52 and consequently the arm 50 drops to the left as seen in Fig.- 6 to thereby affect an automatic dofiing thereof. .A stop-pin 62 is fastened to the frame 20 so thatthe latch 57 rests thereon'in such a position that its tapered nose 63 is in the path of the pin 60 so that it will be positively picked up thereby when the arm 50 is manually turned back to winding position with spool after it is completely wound and .the arrangement of the parts is such that this takes place in apositiveand sure manner. Thus assuming an empty spool to be in position for winding the periphery of that spool rests against the face of the winding drum 24 while the ends of the spindle I? ride in the provided slots M. The arms 50 in which the slots 51 are located are held against movement away from the winding drum 24 by the latch or latches 57 having engaged the holding pins 60 which project inwardly from the arms 50. As the thread mass increases in diameter the spindle 17 rides upwardly in the slot 51 but still maintains the periphery of the thread mass in contact with the drum 24 and this continues until the aforesaid spindle 17 lifts the latches 57 away from the pins 60 whereupon the arms 50 are free to swing about the pivot rod 52 and do so swing under the pressure from the winding drum. Hence the wound spool takes a dofiing position automatically and such position is determined by the engagement of the stops 55 with the ribs 54 of the bracket 20. I

In the form ,of the invention shown in Fig. 7 the spindle 17 of the spool to be wound rides in slot 65 of rock-arm 66 whichis pivoted to a rod 67 supported by a side frame bracket 68. While' but one arm 66 is shown and described here, it will be understood that the opposite end of the spool is supported by duplicate parts. The upper end of therock-arm 66 is provided with a pin 70 which serves to cooperate with a bell crank 71 having a latch 72' formed thereon, which latch not only engages the pin 70 but also extends across the upper end of the slot 65 so that it is in the path of the spindle 17. The bell crank 71 is pivoted at '73 to the bracket frame 68 and the opposite end 74 of the bell crank terminates in a slot 75 and pin 76 inconnection with a link 77 which joins an arm 78 by means of a pivotal connection 80. The arm 78 is'preferably a part of a bell crank pivoted at 81 and having a short arm in the form of a weight 82 Thisconstruction insures the bell crank 71 swinging to a position to unlatch the pin 70 when the weight 82 is released to fall by its weight. The dropping of the weight 82 acts through the link 77 and bell crank 74 to release the latch 72 from the pin 70 and therefore the repelling action of the driving wheel 92 against the thread mass causes the arm 66 to swing outwardly to remove the thread mass from contact with the wheel 92. Normally the weight 82 is held in non-operative position as shown in Fig. 7 by means of a movable abutment stop 83, which is fixed to a hub 84 rotatably mounted upon a pin 85 of the frame 68. .This hub 84 is provided with a boss 86 in the form of a clamping socket for holding a control arm 87 which terminates in a thread guide 88. A stop-pin 90 is fast to the frame 68 in the path of the arm 78 so that the latter will have a limit to its swinging movement when releasing the pin '10. Also a stop-pin 91 is fast to the frame 68 in a position to be in the path of the abutment 83 and thus limit the travelof the guide 88 during its control movement. In this form of the invention the thread mass is shown as being driven by frictional contact from a wheel 92 fast to the driving shaft 93. The operation of this form of the invention depends upon the direction of feed of the thread 94 only as a control means for bringing about a discontinuance of the winding operation, and the removal of the spool from the driving reel. I'hus in case the yarn about the reel becomes tangled or for some other,reason ceases to feed freely therefrom, the tangled 'end thereof will follow the unwinding movement of the reel for about a quarter turn and thus change the position ofthe thread'to that shown in dotted lines at 95, hence the weight of the control arm 87 allows this latter to drop and remove the abutment 83 from the path of the weight controlled arm 78. The weight 82 then rotates the arm 78 until it strikes ,the stop 90 and this motion is transmitted by way of link 77 and bell cranks '74 and 71 to the latch 72 which swings clockwise, to release the rock arms 66. The pull of the thread or yarn therefore acts at once to swing the spool supporting the arm 66 away from the driving wheels 92 and this not 1 only stops the winding operation, but removes the thread mass from the driving wheels 92 so that the thread is not subject to chafing or wear. The same action takes place if the thread breaks because this allows the control arm 87 to drop by its own weight'to thus release the arm 78 to the action of the weight 82.

In theform of the invention shown in Fig. 8 a modified form of bracket is provided having laterally disposed ribs 101 forming a slot 102 to receive and guide the spindle 17 upon which the spool 10 is mounted. The spool 10 is rotated by a drivenwheel or roller 103 by frictional engagement with the thread mass on the spool, and the wheel 103 is preferably frictionally" driven by the driving wheel 11. 1

For the purpose of stopping the driven wheel 103 under certain conditions, a brake block 104 is carried by an arm 105 which, as here shown, is one arm of a three arm bell crank pivoted upon a pin 106 in a'lug 107 of the bracket 100. The otherarms 108 and 109 of the bell crank respectively carry a weight 1 10 and an extension 111 whereby the brake 104 is rendered operative and released for operation. Normally the extension 111 is latched in the position shown by a pin 112 and latch bar 113 to hold the brake 104 ineffective, and the latch bar 113 is pivoted at 114 to extend across the upward path of movement of the spindle 17. The arrangement is such that when the thread mass on the spool reaches the diameter of a full wound spool, the spindle 17 will then engage the latch bar 113 and cause it to be lifted to unlatch the pin 112 so that the weight arm 108' becomes effective to swing the actuated in case-the winding thread breaks, a

trip lever 115 is pivoted on an ear 116 by means of a pin 11'? and has a lug 118 arranged to travel in a plane to intercept the latch bar 113 and cause its release from the pin 112 when the lever 115 drops by its own weight from its normal elevated position. A lug 119 projects from the trip lever 115 and rests upon the taut thread to maintain the lever in this elevated position. In case the thread 120 breaks the trip lever 115 is released and swings down to bring the, lug 118 against the latch bar 113, lifting the latter and allowing the weight 110 to swing the brake 104 into action to stop the winding operation.

By the device of the present invention a marked increase in the production of wound spools is possible because it will be quite evident that the speed of winding is materially increased through transmitting the driving motion directly to the periphery of the thread mass. In all former machines wherein the drive takes place through the hubs of the spool the initial speed of the machine must be comparatively low in order that the final speed may not be excessive. In other words by the old method of winding the peripheral speed of the spool gradually increases to a maximum when the winding is complete and therefore the initial speed of an unwound spool must be such that the acceleration during winding will not give a final speed beyond the limit of thread strength. By the present invention the peripheral speed is constant and .the machine can accordingly be initially driven at the highest maximum speed and which speed is the constant winding speed. Also since the traverse bar reciprocates at the same speed as in former machines while the spool itself is rotating much faster, there is a very much better winding result in that the threads are placed closely together and more yarn can be placed upon a spool.

While in the foregoing the term thread is used in describing the winding mechanism, it is to be understood that such use is in a broad sense and comprehends any material capable of being wound by the device of the invention. Also it should be noted that reference ,to skeins of yarn is only by way of example as, of course, the invention is applicable to winding from spools, reels, or any other package form of material.

It will now be apparent that a complete unitary winding mechanism has been devised capable of use with the finest of threads, such as silk and rayons, without damage thereto by reason of tangled threads or other obstruction to the normal free feeding of such threads. Furthermore the device of the present invention is sensitive to and responsive to a failure of the yarn or thread to feed freely from the skein or package; to the thread mass when the latter reaches a predetermined diameter; and tothe breakage the thread.

a spool to wind a thread thereon, a driving means cooperating with the thread mass for rotating said spool, arms pivotally mounted and having slots therein for respectively guiding the ends of said spindle, and means located in the path of movement of said spindle for holding said spool in winding position, said holding means being arranged to be released by the movement of said spindle caused by the increase in diameter of the thread mass, whereby said spool is automatically dofied.

2. In a thread winding mechanism of the traverse bar controlled type, a spindle for mounting a spool to wind a thread thereon, a driving means cooperating with the thread mass for rotating said spool, pivotally mounted arms for journalling said spindle means arranged to engage said arms to maintain said spool or thread mass thereon in operative relation to said driving means, and means automatically operated at a predetermined diameter of said thread mass, by a failure of the thread to feed, and by thread breakage for releasing said engaging means to cause said arms to doff the wound spool- 3. In a thread winding mechanism of the traverse bar controlled type, a spool, means including a pair of movable arms for mounting said spool, a driving means cooperating to wind a thread on said spool, means normally locking said arms to maintain an operative relation between said spool and said driving means, and means actuated only by a change in the direction of the thread being wound to release said locking means whereby said arms remove said spoolfrom operative relation with said driving means.

4. In a thread winding mechanism, a drivingmeans, a spool, arms for mounting said spool for frictional driving contact with said driving means, said arms being pivoted to swing said spool toward and away from said driving means, means normally .tending to swing said arms to remove said spool from contact with said driving means, means for holding said spool in contact with said driving means in opposition to said removing action, and means respectively responsive to thread breakage, or to a change of direction of thread feed, or to a predetermined spool mass for releasing said holding means, whereby said spool is automatically removed from said driving means.

5. In a thread winding mechanism a driving means, a spool, a spindle for mounting said spool, arms provided respectively with slots at one end to receive and guide said spindle and pivotally mounted at the other end to swing said spool into driving means, and means located in the path of travel of said spindle for holding said spool from movement by said swinging means and releasable by the movement of said spindle when a predetermined spool mass diameter is wound.

6. In a thread winding mechanism, a driving means, a spool, a spindle for mounting said-spool, arms provided respectively with slots at one end to receive and guide said spindle and pivotally mounted at the other end to swing said spool into and out of contact with said driving means, the constructionand arrangement being such that said spindle travels outwardly of said slots in accordance with the increase of thread mass on said spool, means normally tending to swing saidarms to remove said spool from contact with said driving means, means located in the path of travel of said spindle for holding said spool from movement by said swinging means and releasable by the movement of said spindle when a predetermined spool mass diameter is wound, and auxiliary means controlled by the breaking of a thread for causing said holding means to be released.

7. In a thread winding mechanism, a driving means, a spool, a spindle for mounting said spool, arms provided respectively with slots at one end to receive and guide said spindle and pivotally mounted at the other end to swing said spool into and out of contact with said driving means, the construction and arrangement being such that said spindle travels outwardly of said slots in accordance with the increase of thread mass on said spool, means normally tending to swing said arms to remove said spool from contact with said driving means, means located in the path of travel of said spindle for holding said spool from movement by said swinging means and releasable by the movement of said spindle when a predetermined spool mass diameter is wound, and auxiliary means controlled by a change of direction of thread feed due to a tangle for also causing said holding means to be released.

8. In a thread winding mechanism of the traverse bar controlled type, a spindle for mounting a spool to wind a thread thereon, a driving means cooperating with the thread mass for rotating said spool, pivotally mounted arms for journalling said spindle, means arranged to engage said arms to maintain said spool or thread mass thereon in operative relation to said driving means, and means automatically operated by a failure of the thread to feed and by thread breakage for releasing said engaging means to cause said arms to dofi the wound spool.

HARRY S. DRUM. WILLIAM C. DODSON.

Images