US2019644A - Thread cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

Nam 59 E935.. P. w. BAKER ET AL. gymgm THREAD CLEANING DEVICE Filed Aug. 17, 1.933

Patented Nov. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE THREAD CLEANING ADEVICE Application August'iv, 1933, serialkNo. 685,518

' z claims. (cl. zas- 70) This invention relates to a thread cleaning device, and moreparticularly to a device for cleaning raw silk thread during the operations usually performed on said thread to convert it into a yarn suitable for knitting or weaving..

As is well known, raw silk thread frequently contains certain defective portions throughout its length which have to be eliminated before the thread can be properly converted into suitable yarn'for use in knitting and weaving. Quite frequently, for instance, the thread is found to have attached thereto, at diiferent points along its length, small masses of tangled open bres known as waste, or it has thickened places formed thereon, which are several times the diameter of the thread,`and which are known in the art as slugs or nibs. These defective portions are formed on the thread at the time it is reeled into skeins at the reeling plants. Careless reeling girls allow waste and dirt to collect in the reeling basins and during the reeling operation this waste and dirt pass on to the thread and adhere thereto. f

In preparing the raw silk thread for commercial use it has been the practice to cause the same to pass'through a cleaning devicepriorto it being wound onto spools so that the waste and thickened portions will be removed or eliminated. These cleaning devices are usually constructed and positioned on the winding machinesso that, as the thread passesthrough the machine, the waste or the thickened portions are either scraped from the thread or the thread is caused to be broken by the cleaning device at the points where the defective portions occur. In thecase where a: thread is broken by the cleaning device the operator of the winding machine removes the defective portion o-f the thread and then tiesthe ends of the broken thread together so that the winding thereof onto the spools may be continued.

The work of winding the raw silk thread on to the spools and of removing or eliminating the defective portions thereof, is usually entrusted to girls or other Workers who are compensatedvfor their work in accordance with the amount of silk thread they succeed in getting wound'on the spools during ,a days time.y Because of thefact that the cleaning devices employed on the winding machines cause many breaks to occur in the thread, the total amount of thread a particular winding operator is capable of handling during .a days time is cut down to a considerable extent because of the time lost in tying the broken ends of the thread together. This curtailment of the amount of thread which can be handled of course effects the amount of compensation received by the operator and consequently many of them in order to increase their earnings, deliberately position the raw silk thread during the winding operation so that it will not pass through the clean- 5 ing device and so it will be'wound upon the spools Without the defective portions thereof being removed. The resultant nished thread will still contain the defective'portions therein and when used to knit or weave a fabric will produce goods 10 of defective quality.

It is the special object of the present invention to correct this situation and to provide a cleaning device for raw silk thread which is so constructed and designed that, when it is properly positioned on the Winding machine, the thread as it proceeds past said device, during the winding operation, will bev automatically directed into the path of the cleaning slot of said device and it will be impossible' for the 'operator of the machine to di- 2O vert the direction of travel of the thread so that it will not be 4directed through the cleaning member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a threadV cleaning device for winding machines which may be readily placed in operative position on the machine, or detached therefrom, without the use of tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thread cleaning` device for winding machines which is simple and rugged in construction, enicient in operation, and exceedingly inexpensive to manufacture.

Further objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention and the construction thereof will be made clear from the following description and drawing, of which,

Figure 1l is afront elevational View of one end of atypical thread winding machine and showing our improved thread cleaning device mounted thereon in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of Figure 1 taken on the line` 2 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; 4.5

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the thread cleaning device of our invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of said device taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of thearrows;' 50

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of the device;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation;

Fig. 'l is a bottom plan view of a modied form of construction.

In Figure 1 of the drawing there has been illus- 55 trated one end of a typical winding machine which is used in a silk throwsters plant for winding raw silk threads on to spools so said thread can be subjected to further treatment to convert it into a suitable yarn for knitting or weaving purposes. While the mechanism of this winding machine forms no part of the present invention it is believed that a brief general description of the same, and the manner in which it operates, will be beneficial for a more clear understanding of the thread cleaning device described and claimed herein.

When the raw hilk thread indicated at I in Figure 1 is to be wound on to spools by the wind ing machine, it is positioned on the reels 2 and the end of the thread is secured to a spool 3 positioned at the top of the machine. The reels 2 are mounted so that they will freely rotate in bearings provided in supports 4. The spools 3 are mounted so as to freely rotate in bearings provided in supports 5. The spools 3 are provided with friction wheels 6 which are positioned so as to have frictional engagement with wheels I. The wheels 'l are xedly mounted on the operating shaft 8 of the Winding machine so that they will rotate therewith. The shaft 8 is rotated by suitable mechanism (not shown) which is caused to be actuated by any desirable power source such as by an electric motor. It will be understood from the above that when the wheels l are rotated by shaft 8 they will cause the spools 3 to be rotated through friction wheels 6 and the thread will be unreeled from the reels 2 and wound around the spools.

The shaft 9 is provided at one end with a gear 3 which is positioned so that it meshes with gear I9 mounted on a short shaft I| which is rotatively secured in the end frame work of the machine. Also mounted on shaft is the gear I2 which meshes with gear I3. Gear |3`is mounted on shaft I 4 which is also rotatively secured. to the end frame work of the machine. Secured to shaft I4 and rotating therewith is an eccentric cam wheel I5 which cooperates with and actuates lever I5 and effects a swinging movement thereto. Lever I6 is pivotally secured at its lower end, as at |I, to an extension |8 of the frame work of the machine and is secured at. its upper end to the end of a shaft I9.

The shaft |9 is mounted so as toi-have a reciprocating movement lengthwise of the machine and has secured thereto, adjacent each spool, a thread guide 28 which guides the thread I from the reel 2 on to spools 3 as the machine is operated.

It will be seen from the above brief description of the mechanism of the winding machine that as the shaft 8 is rotated the gears 9, l0, I2 and I3 will cause shaft I4 and cam wheel I5 to rotate so that said cam wheel will impart a rocking movement to lever I6 which in turn will eifect a reciprocating movement back and forth lengthwise of the machine, to shaft I9. The extent of the reciprocating movement imparted to shaft I9 by lever I6 is such that the thread guides 20 will be moved back and forth only the length of the spools and as the thread is wound on the spools it will be evenly distributed thereon.

The thread cleaning device of our present invention is adapted to be secured to the reciprocating shaft I9 and positioned below and adjacent to the thread guide 23 so. that the thread I as it is being wound on the spool, will pass through said cleaning device before it passes through said guide.

The construction of the improved thread cleaning device is clearly shown in Figures 3 to 7 and comprises a supporting member indicated generally by the numeral 2| and a cleaning member indicated generally by the numeral 22. 5

The supporting member of the cleaning device is made of any suitable metallic material and is formed in the shape of a bracket having the upwardly extending portion 23 and the base portion 24 extending at an angle to said upright por- 10 tion. The upright portion 23 is provided with holes 25 for securing the supporting members to the shaft I9. The base portion 24 is formed with upturned sides 26 which have their upper edges bent slightly inwardly to form a groove 15 adapted to slidably receive the side edges of the cleaning member of the device. The base portion 24 is also provided with a metallic strap or band 2'I which is secured around said base portion in any suitable manner and so that it ex- 2O tends across and rests upon the upturned sides 26.

The cleaning member of the thread cleaning device is comprised of the metallic base portion indicated generally at 23. One end 29 of said base portion is shaped so that it may be slidably 25 inserted under the metallic strap 26 and between the grooved side edges 26 of the supporting member and be supported thereby. The other end 3i! of the base portion of the cleaning member is provided with a transverse slot 3| (see Figure 5). 30

Secured to the upper face of the base portion 28 of the cleaning member in any suitable manner, such as by welding, are the metallic plates 32 and 33. The plates 32 and 33 are positioned on the base portion 2 3 so that their inside edges 35 are slightly separated from each other and so that said edges lie over the transverse slot 3|. The inside edge of each of said plates 32 and 33, is provided with a cut out'portion which, when said plates are positioned with respect to each 40 other on said base portion, will form an opening 34.

The plate 33 is provided with an inclined outer edge 35 which extends outside the end edge of base portion 28 and which terminates in a round- 45 ed point 36. The end 3I of plate 32 extends beyond the side edge of the base portion 28 and beyond the rounded point 3B of the plate 33 and is pro-vided with the rounded corners 38.

It will be seen from the above description of 50 the thread cleaning device that the supporting member 2| may be secured to the shaft I9 and the thread cleaning member may be readily and quickly attached thereto or detachedtherefrom by slidingly inserting or removing the end 55 28 of the cleaning device in or from the grooved base portion 24.

When the cleaning member is in position with respect to the supporting member it will be seen that when the raw silk thread is unwound from 60 the reel 2 by the operation of the winding machine, said thread will contact with the inclined edge 35 of the plate 33 of the cleaning mem-ber and the inclined edge will cause the thread to be ldirected to and over the rounded point 36 and 65 cause it to enter the cleaning slot 40 formed between the plates 32 and 33. The edge 39 of extended end 31 of plate 32 also acts as a barrier for the thread so that it will be positively directed into the said cleaning slot. 70

The cleaning slot 40 formed between plates 32 and 33 is of such length that when the thread is positioned therein, said thread will be maintained in the slot and will not be dislodged by the reciprocations imparted to the shaft I9 and 75 unless the thread is broken `by an undue amount of waste, or by an unusual thickened portion of the thread becoming jammed in the slot 40, the thread will continue to pass through the said cleaning slot until the winding on the spool is completed and the edges of the plates 32 and 33 will scrape the waste and other matter from the thread. The accumulation of the waste matter removed from the thread may be forced through the opening 34 formed by the plates 32 and 33.

When the thread is broken by becoming jammed in the cleaning slot lill, and the operator of the winding machine ties the broken ends together, the thread will again be automatically directed into the cleaning slot. of the cleaning device when the Winding operation is again resumed and it is impossible. for the operator of the machine to direct the travel of the thread so that it will not pass through the cleaning device unless said operator deliberately pushes the thread to the left side of the bracket and thus Aprevents it from sliding down on the upper angle plate.

In the modification shown in Figure 7 there is provided, on the base portion 28 of the cleaning member, a small rod ill made of glass or other suitable material which is positioned closely adjacent the edge (l2 of the slot 3|. Said rod is rotatively mounted in suitable bearings which may be punched out oi the under side of said base or formed thereon in any suitable manner. The provision of the glass rod lll is for the purpose of preventing the thread as it passes thro-ugh the cleaning slot 58 coming in Contact With the edge i2 of the slot 3l in the base portion 28 and thus being cut by said edge.

Having now fully explained our invention, what we seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. In a thread cleaning device for a thread 'Winding machine, the combination of a thread cleaning member having a metallic base portion provided with a slo-t at one end thereof and a pair of spaced thread cleaning plates mounted thereon so that the space between said plates will lie over and in line with said slot, a support for said cleaning member provided with a flange adapted to be secured to the thread Winding machine and a supporting member with grooved sided edges to slidingly receive the metallic base portion of said cleaning member, means surrounding said grooved supporting member to retain said metallic base portion of said cleaning member in position with respect to said supporting member when it is positioned between the grooved sides thereof, and means on said thread cleaning member for guiding the thread to be cleaned between said thread cleaning plates as it is fed to the cleaning device by the Winding machine.

2. In a thread cleaning device for thread Winding machines provided With a traversing shaft, a cleaning member having a base portion provided with a slot in one end thereof, a pair of cleaning plates, each having a cleaning edge formed thereon and positioned on said base portion with their cleaning edges spaced from each other and so that they lie over and in line with the slot in said base portion, means. todetachably support the said base portion on said traversing shaft with said cleaning plates held in operative position and at right angles to the travel of the thread to be cleaned, one of said cleaning plates being formed with an inclined thread guiding edge for causing said thread to be fed between said spaced cleaning edges, and the other of said plates being formed so that its cleaning edge extends beyond the lower end of the inclined thread guiding edge of the other plate and so that said extended edge will cooperate with the inclined edge of the other plate to insure a continuous guiding of lsaid thread into the space between the cleaning plates during the operations of the traversing shaft.

PAUL W. BAKER. JOSEPH A. SCHIFF'NER.

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