US2131859A - Thread cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Patented Oct. 4, 1938 PATENT orrrcr.

THREAD CLEANER Herman R.. Schmadeke, Brooklyn, N. Y.; assigner toFalcon Machine and Tool Co., Inc., Brooklyn, N .`Y., a corporation of New York YApplicationJanuary 2, 1936,v Serial No. 57,307

s Claims., (cl. 21a- 70) f`The present invention-relates to threadcleaners of the"v type lused on windingfmachines and usually attached to; the traversing mechanism oi the machine'. More particularly, the invention embodies` a `special supporting bracket for the cleaner blades vas welll` as a novel support for the procelain` or guide associated therewith.-

Itis a well" recognizeddisadvantage in theV winding art 'that good raw knots frequently -fail to ,pass the cleaner` blades and consequently cause breakage of the thread, thus necessitating a delay in winding while the operator ties the broken ends. If the cleaner is rigidlyixed to the traverse bar, the threadlwill be broken when a slight strain is placed thereon by engagement of a knot withthe cleaner. Some types or" blades are mounted to provide for more or less lateral --movement of the blades, and it has been found that this `form i blade mounting relieves, to lsome extent, the strain onV the', thread `when a knot is drawn through the cleaner. Various vd eects `in the latter ty'peof `rn'ounting have been noted, however, 'and itI isfintended in the present invention'to overcomesuoh difficulties "as Ahave been met with in*cleanerspreviously designed( to relievestrains on the threadl as it is being cleaned.

cone of the objects of the present inventions to support the cleaner blades so that `they are permitted to rock slightly notl only laterally with respect to the thread but longitudinally thereto as well. This movement of the blades rnight be` termed universal, inasmuch as the blade holder is permitted to be displaced in its own plane either vertically or horizontally or in both directions; also,` it maypivot about a point in itsV own plane, or about a horizontal line, or about. a vertical line. This result will be `more apparent irornthe' description of the cleanersupport that 4follows herein. f Itisanther object of the invention Yto sup` port the porcelain or guide forwardly of the cleaner so Vthat it willbe movable vertically with respect to the cleaner so that it will relieve the strain on theVV thread undercertai-n conditions such, for instance, as when threads cross. YThe support referred to comprises a yeldable mount! ing easily attachable to the cleaner support and,` in its preferred form, consists of a suitably bent wire;

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description takenwith the accompanying draw-ing,` in'whichi `Fig. 1 is a perspective View of 'the cleaner and porcelainft'ogether with theirsupporting elements, the whole illustratinga preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front View of the cleaner support;

Fig.V 3 is a side view'in section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.` 2;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the cleaner comprising the usual cleaner blades secured to a fork;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the porcelain or guide support;

Fig. 6 is a side View, and Fig. l a rear view of a special iorrn of guide employedr in the present invention.

In Vthe! drawing, the usual traverse bar is in` dicated at ill, the ceaning blades at li, and the guide at l2. Secure'sil to bar iii by any suitable means, such'a's screws i3, is a bracket i4 conveniently a thin metal stamping. Bracket le is generally U-shaped in form, providing a recess l5, side arms iyand a connecting bridge ll at the lower part thereof. The lower ends of arms areY angularly offset from the plane of the bracketior a purpose to be explained hereinn after. Medially oi the bracket and depending from bridge il is a tongue i8 having at its lower end a bent linger portion iii, ends arms It are bent 'forwardly to form flanges Elfthe latter having fingers 22 thereon. Bear-` ings for the guide'support are illustrated as being pressed from the bracket arms, as indicated at 23. lIt will be seen that `notches 2li are'cut in the bracket to facilitate easy attachment and removal of the bracket fromthe traverse bar.

Secured toA bracket i5 by a screw or rivet are two spring plates 25, 26, between which is interposed a washer or spacer 2l to act as a separator for the plates.'-Bothplates are stamped from light spring metal and are intended to be yieldable. The front spring plate 25 is notched at 28, this notch cooperating With finger iS to' form a non-pivotal connection between the plate and bracket ifi. Adjacenteach of its upper corners, plate 25 is provided 'with' convex humps or buttons on the rear face thereof, as indicatedrat 255 in Fig. 2.' While these buttons may be formed on the spring plate in any suitable manner, they are preferably pressed from the metal and appear as indentations in Figs. 1 and 2. The `rear spring 'plate 25 extends' upwardly substantially to the upper ends of arms l5 and is provided Y adjacent its `upper edge with a 'vertical pressed rib 3l on its front face. its upper edge is bent rearwardly to form a lip 32 to provide for easy insertion of the cleaner into the bracket.

` As shown in Fig. 4, the cleaner co-nsists'of a pair -ofblades 33, preferably made fromhardened steel, and riveted or otherwise securely fastened to a holder or fork member 34. The fork is drilled near its lower corners to provide two apertures or recesses 35. 'Ihese are illustrated as openings extending through the fork, but may be concave indentations, if so desired. These recesses are slightly larger in diameter than the buttons 29 and are spaced apart substantially the same distance as the space between the buttons. The purpose of making the recesses larger than the buttons is to permit some relative movement of the fork with respect to plate in every direction in the plane of the fork. At the same time the buttons project sufficiently far into the recesses so that the fork cannot be withdrawn from the bracket without first overcoming the spring pressure of plate 25, that is, by a vertical pull strong enough to displace the convex buttons with respect to the recesses. It is here mentioned that washer 21 has a thickness substantially the same as that of fork 34 so that the fork ts snugly between the spring plates and its accidental removal is precluded by engagement of buttons 29 with recesses 35. Because of the lostmotion connection between the blade' holder and the buttons on plate 25, the holder is free to move either laterally, vertically, or obliquely, but only to a limited extent. It is apparent, also, that the holder may have a limited pivotal movement about either of the buttons.

It will be seen from Fig. 1 that flanges 2| and fingers 22 form a slot to guide the cleaner fork into the bracket and prevent substantial lateral or forward movement of the fork and blades. Actually, the flanges and fingers are spaced a slight amount from the face and edges of the blade holder so that the holder fits loosely therein and is thereby permitted to have some movement in either a forward or lateral direction. Furthermore, because of the springy character of plate 2B, fork 34 is permitted to rock rearwardly on what might properly be said a pivotal line defined by the upper edge of bridge portion of the bracket. Also, because of rib 3|, and the yieldability of plates 25 and 26, fork 34 may pivot vertically about the rib. .It will thus be apparent that the bracket and the spring plates thereon form a support for the blade holding fork which permits a universal or floating movement of the fork in the bracket. Hence, knots or slubs on the thread, instead of engaging the blades with what might be called abrupt impact, first cause the blade holder to yield in whatever direction the force of the traveling slub is directed, after which the holder adapts itself to the best position which permits passage of the slub.

To cooperate with the cleaner described hereinbefore, a special form of guide and guide support are illustrated in the drawing. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the guide I2 comprises a porcelain member of the type having overlapping hooks and a passage 36 therebetween. 'I'he entrant edge 31 of the guide is substantially wider than the guide passage and the guide face 38 is deiined by diverging flanges 39. This construction insures a wider surface over which the thread is guided and the flanges 39 permit a wide play of the thread without danger of its entanglement with other parts of the guide. The guide is supported forwardly of the cleaner by a yieldable member 4| preferably formed from piano wire and bent to the shape shown in Fig. 5. The guide holder is provided with an open loop 42 from which leg portions 43 diverge, the ends of the legs being bent at substantially a right angle to form fingers 44. These ngers are readily attachable to the bracket as shown in Fig. 1, tting snugly into bearings 23 after passing through apertures 45 in flanges 2|. The legs are inclined downwardly from horizontal portions 46 which lie flush on flanges 2| so that the vertical faces of the guide and cleaner blades are not in parallel relation. As stated hereinbefore, the lower ends of bracket arms I6 are offset angularly. When attached to the traverse bar, the cleaner support is thus tilted slightly to the rear. The effect of this arrangement is to have the thread enter the cleaner at an angle, permitting relative movement of slubs with respect to the face of the cleaner. The wire support 4| tends to yield to abnormal pressures incident to pulls on the threads, as when they become crossed, and prevents abrupt breakage of the threads.

The guide is provided on its lower side with a substantially cylindrical boss 41 having a groove 48 therein adjacent the bottom face of the guide. Projecting rearwardly from the boss is a lug 49 which, when the loop 42 of the wire is snapped into groove 48, prevents relative rotation between the guide and its support. A threaded stem is provided on the guide in case it is desired to attach the guide to other forms of supports.

While a preferred form of the invention has been described and certain parts shown in detail, it is intended that the invention be susceptible of such changes and modifications as come within the definition thereof as expressed in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a thread cleaner, a blade holder, a support for said holder, and means for retaining said holder in said support including a plurality of lost-motion connections between said holder and said support, whereby said holder is movable in any direction with respect to said support in the plane of said holder.

2. In a thread cleaner, a blade holder having a pair of recesses therein, a support for said holder, and means on said support for retaining said holder in said support including projections having a lost-motion coaction with said recesses, whereby said holder is free to move in any direction with respect to said support in the plane of said holder.

3. In a thread cleaner, a blade holder having a whereby said holder is free to move pivotally l about either of said projections in the plane of said holder.

4. In a thread cleaner, a cleaning element, a support for said element, and a pair of spring members on the support cooperating respectively with the opposite faces of said element to retain the element in the support and to permit limited movement of the element with respect to said support in the line of thread travel.

5. In a thread cleaner, a cleaner element, a support for said element including a pair of spring members on the support cooperating respectively with the opposite faces of said element to retain the element in the support and to permit limited movement of the element with respect to said support in the line of thread travel, and means for limiting movement of said element laterally with respect to said spring members.

6. In a thread cleaner, a cleaner element, a support for said element including a pair of substantially fiat spring plates on the support cooperating respectively with the opposite faces of said element to retain the element in the support and topermit limited movement of the element with respect to said support in the line of thread travel, and a medial projection on one of said plates acting as a iulcrum to permit limited rocking movement of said element with respect to said plates.

,'7. In a thread cleaner, a cleaning element, a support for said element comprising a U-shaped bracket, and a pair of yieldable members secured to said support between the arms of the bracket, said yieldable members cooperating respectively 15 with the front and rear faces of said element to retain the element in said bracket and to permit limited movement of the element with respect to said bracket in the line of thread travel.

8. In a thread cleaner, a blade holding member, a supporting member for supporting said blade holding member, one of said members having a pair of recesses therein, and means on the other of said members for retaining said holding member in said supporting member including projections on said other member having a lostmotion coaction with said recesses, whereby said holding member is free to move in any direction with respect to said supporting member in the plane of said holding member.

HERMAN R. SCHMADEKE.

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