US2211434A - Feeding and tensioning mechanism for strand wrapping machines - Google Patents

Description

ugQ 13, 1940. J. PERRY 2,211,434

FEEDI NG AND TENSIONING MECHANISM FOR STRAND WRAPPING MACHINES Filed June 1, 1939 ATTORNEYS.

I strand covering machines of the type in which- Patented Aug. 13, 1940 PATENT OFFICE FEEDING AND TENSIONING MECHANISM FOR STRAND WRAPPING MACHINES John Perry, Seekonk, Mass., assignor to H & B American Machine Company, a corporation of Maine Application June 1, 1939, Serial No. 276,782

14 Claims.

This invention relates to strand wrapping machines, and in particular to improvements in yarn or other desired covering material in filament form is applied by one or more spiral wrappings about the surface of a vertically moving run of elastic strand material, specifically in the form of a core or thread of rubber, and has for one of its objects to provide in a machine of this type improved means for positively advancing the elastic strand material through the machine in such a manner-as to maintain a constant feed and elongation of the rubber core while applying a covering material thereto and a constant take-up of the core as covered whereby an even covering of the strand by the covering material during the covering operation will result.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the above class apparatus feeding and tensioning device which will uniformly advance a rubber core or strand longitudinally of its length and at the same time maintain it in a stretched condition of predetermined and constant elongation during the covering operation without the necessity of wrapping the strand or core about parts of the feeding and tensioning mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the gripping and feeding of the elastic strand in such a manner that in the event of breakage'of the rubber strand or core the normal running of the entire machine will not be interrupted or interfered with but that the feed of the individual strands or cores from a common supply beam will be maintained to the remaining strand covering devices on the machine, and also an uninterrupted feeding of the broken strand from the supply beam to its respective bottom feeding de vice without wrapping of the broken end about parts of the mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for feeding and tensioning a stretch of strand material in a machine of the above class in which the device is so constructed as to be self-threading and feed the strand material into off of the covered strand as finished, to maintain a constant elongation of the strand while applying the covering material, without slippage asit passes through the machine and Without resulting in sticking of the strand at the feeding and draw-off devices.

Another object of the invention is the pivoting of one of a pair of rotary strand advancing members for swinging movement relatively toward and away from the other member for gripping the strand, and the location of the fulcrum point of the pivoted member at such a position as to cause the swingable strand advancing member to exert a wedging action on the strand tohold it securelyin contact with the other strand advancing member at the time of feeding of the strand. 7

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a fragmental portion of a strand covering machine showing a pair of strand feeding and tensioning devices embodying my invention in their normal working position thereon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of one form of strand feeding and tensioning device members.

Fig, 3 is an end elevation of the device shown in Fig. 2 as viewed from the bottom of that figure.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

In the wrapping of yarn or other covering materials in filament form about a vertically moving strand or core of rubber yarn or thread, it has been found necessary in order to obtain an even covering on the core, that a uniform feeding and constant tensioning of the core is essential. That is, the vertical advancing movement of the core through the machine during the covering operation must be uniform and the speed of the draw-off means for the core as it is covered should be greater than the speed of feeding means for the bare core into the machine and remain constant so that a constant elongation of the core as it is being covered will be maintained as the core is pulled through the machine during the covering operation.

Heretofore, it has been the usual practice in the art to provide a lower feed wheel for feeding the bare core into the machine and an upper draw-off wheel for uniformly stretching the core, which wheels in one common type have perforated side walls and are rotated at constant but different speeds for pulling the stretched core or strand of rubber under constant tension upwardly through the hollow spindles of the rotary wrapping devices that carry the bobbins of the covering material and successively apply helical wrappings of the covering material to the moving elastic core as it passes vertically through the machine. In this prior method it has been found necessary to wrap or wind the rubber core or strand a full turn or more around the feed Wheel and the draw-off wheel respectively in order to secure the proper gripping action on the core for advancing the same through the machine under constant tension as these wheels are rotated.

However, this prior method has not proven to be entirely satisfactory in practice because at times either the draw-off wheel or the feed wheel or both become clogged, due to the yarn or the uncovered rubber core being tightly wound around the upper draw-off wheel and the lower feed wheel respectively and entangled in their structure before the machine can be brought to a full stop after breakage of the core occurs. The operation of disentangling and removing the tangled massed relation of the yarn, or of the core, or both, is inconvenient and wastes time, quite apart from the fact that the production is rendered difficult and expensive since the machine may remain stopped for a considerable period with the consequent loss in production while the snarled material is cut out and pried away from the various portions of the feed wheel. This condition may arise in various ways, such as, for example, in the case of the feed wheel, due to the presence of thin places or defects in the rubber thread or core or by reason of bad packaging of the yarn wherein doubled-in turns of the yarn become pinched within the yarn package and arrest its rotation as the yarn is being applied to the rubber core thus causing stoppage of the flier and a jerk on the rubber core at the serving point of the initial winding head to resist the feeding movement of the rubber core between the lower feed wheel and the upper draw-off wheel, which core is under tension and stretched close to its breaking point, thus imposing a strain on the rubber often sufiicient to snap it off at a point above the lower feed wheel. The broken end of the rubber core being suddenly relieved of its tension when breakage occurs thus becomes tightly bound to the feed wheel which due to the full wrap of the rubber core thereon causes further feeding of the core after rupture before stoppage of the machine can be effected and results in the winding up of considerable rubber around the feed wheel.

In the other instance, the upper draw-off wheel becomes clog red due to breakage of the run of covered rubber as it passes under tension from the upper draw-off wheel to the take-up reel, this condition being caused by sticking of the stretched covered rubber strand to the perforated parts of the wheel to encircle the same for a full wrap and the subsequent wrapping of the rubber strand as covered a second time around the draw-off wheel to lock the first wrapping whereby breakage of the strand ensues and the broken end so held further winds on additional lengths of the rubber strand as covered before the machine can be stopped; and in order to overcome the difficulties above named, I have provided upper and lower rotary strand advancing and tensioning devices, one of which is cated above the usual upper wrapping or winding head of the machine and the other below the 'lower winding head thereof, each of these dedetermined and constant length of elongation while advancing the strand longitudinally of its length through the machine upon positive rotation of one of said rotary members, and in order to secure these advantageous results I have provided a driven grooved wheel positioned at one side of path of travel of the strand or core, and a yielding freely rotatable presser roller positioned opposite the grooved wheel and having a working portion adapted to coact within a working portion of the groove of the grooved wheel and movable toward the grooved wheel by reason of a swingable support and the action of a weight to engage the other side of the elastic strand or core, with or without the applied covering material, when the same is confined between the grooved wheel and the roller and to press the strand or core against the wheel by pressure applied by the weight to urge the presser roller in that direction whereby the positive simultaneous rotation of the driven grooved wheels of both upper and lower devices will cause longitudinal advancing movement and tensioning of the gripped strand through the winding heads of the machine driving the covering operation, and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished.

With reference to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown only one unit of a strand covering machine in accordance with the invention in order to simplify illustration since in such machine a plurality of duplicate units are employed in gangs and the description of one unit will equally apply to the others. As illustrated, the machine comprises a pair of hollow rotatable winding heads I and H which are arranged in a double deck arrangement one above the other in vertical alignment and receive a strand of yarn or other covering material from their respective .bobbins I2 and I3 and apply it in a succession of spiral wrappings around a core or strand f5 to be covered, such as rubber yarn or thread, as the core passes vertically through the hollow winding heads. The winding heads ill and H are of similar construction and may consist, as in the usual machines of this class, of a tubular spindle journaled in suitable bearing in a base which is mounted upon the usual longitudinally extended side rails l6 and I1 carried by the frame of a covering machine. The winding heads l0 and Il may be driven by means of drive belts l8 and [9 respectively, running over the pulleys 20 and 2| on the longitudinally extended driving shafts 22 and 23, as is the usual construction of such machines and well known in the art.

As shown in Fig. 1, the rubber core l5 to be covered is first led from a supply reel 24 or other suitable source of supply through the guide eye 25 at the bottom of the machine, and then passes vertically upwardly through the machine in the course of which vertical travel it passes through one of my rotary feeding and tensioning devices, generally designated 26, which includes novel features that will hereinafter be more fully described, and by which the core I5 is nipped as at 21 and pulled from the reel 24. The core then is led upwardly through the hollow spindles of the winding heads l and II which successively apply two layers of the covering material spirally in opposite directions to the core, the thus covered core now being designated l. The double covered strand I5 then passes upwardly through a second rotary feeding and tensioning device generally designated 28 embodying the invention and which is positioned above the upper winding head II and nips the core l5 as'at 29 to exert a wedging action thereon upon rotation of the device 28. The devices 26 and 28 are positively rotated at constant but different speeds so as toprovide constant and' predetermined elongation of the rubber strand between the nip points 21 and 29 while advancing the core upwardly through the machine. After the covering process is finished the thus-covered strand I5 is led through the guide eye 30 and is then wound about a take-up reel 3| which retates upon the spindle 32 suitably fixed to the machine. The guide eye 30 is suitably traversed by a reciprocable bar 33 which is actuated by suitable mechanism (not shown) for laying of the strand axially along the extent of the reel 3|.

As illustrated, the upper and lower rotary feeding and t'ensioning devices 26 and 28 re-. spectively are of duplicate construction with the exception that the lower device 26 is mounted on the frame of the machine in an inverted position, as shown in Fig. 1, which mounting marrangement necessitates the provision of a weight 35 as an additional element of the structure, this weight being adjustably mounted on an extension arm 36 and acting to apply the desired pressure for causing the device 26 to grip the bare core l5 and advance the same upon rotation. Otherwise, the description of one of the devices will suffice for both of these mechanisms.

Referring more specifically to Figs.- 2, 3 and 4, the devices 26 and 28 each cons st of a cylindrical member or wheel 4|) which is circumferentlally grooved as at 4| and mounted on a drive shaft 42 for rotation therewith. Disposed opposite the periphery of the wheel 40 is a yieldably arranged pressure roller 43 which has a rounded circumferential working portion 44 coacting with the bottom groove 4| of the grooved wheel 40 to grip the opposite sides of either the covered or uncovered core H5 or |5 respectively when it is positioned between the wheel and the roller. The roller 43 is loosely mounted for rotation upon a pin 45,'the outer end portion of which is formed with an enlarged head 46 for preventing the wheel 40 from sliding off the pin. The inner end of the pin 45 extends within a bore 47 in a boss 48 at one end portion of a pivoted cross arm 59 and projecting from a side face thereof. the pin 45 to the crossarm 50. The opposite side faces of the roller 43 may be suitably recessed as indicated at 52 and 53, Fig. 2, for accommodating the outer end of the boss 48 and the head 46 of the pin 45 respectively.

To permit free yielding movement of the roller 43 toward and away from the grooved wheel 4|,

A suitable set screw 5| serves to secure cross arm 50 is supported at its other end upon a knife edge pivot whereby swinging movement of the presser roller toward and away from the grooved wheel 40 with the minimum of friction at the pivot. As shown in Fig. 3 the hub 54 at the fulcrum end of the lever arm is cored trans-' thereof as the pressure roller 43 so as to provide the required pressure for urging the presser roller 43 into contact with one side of the strand material l5 or l5 confined within the groove 4| and to press it against the working portion of the grooved wheel 40 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The groove 4| of the grooved wheel 40 is transversely corrugated, knurled, or otherwise roughened as indicated at 6| in order to provide a more firm gripping action on the strand material I5 and I5 for pulling the same under tension through the winding heads l0 and during the covering operation as the wheel 40 is positively driven.

In order to insure that the core IE or l5 will be held under constant tension without slippage during its advancing movement, and also to obtain a more positive grip on the core for pulling the same through the machine, the location of the pivot point for the cross arm 50 is an essential feature of the invention. To this end, the bar 58 on which the cross arm 50 is fulcrumed is so positioned with respect to the center of the driven grooved wheel 40 that the line of center of the driven member 40 and the roller 43in passing through the nip points 21 and 29 respectively will always be disposed at an oblique angle to the normal vertical line of travel of the core and should never form a right angle therewith in all positions of swinging movement of the arm 50 and the presser roller 43 so that the core will be bent by the action of the roller 43 in a short are around the periphery of the groove of the wheel 40 in passing therethrough whereby a wedging of the core between the wheel and the presser roller will result at the points of nip 21 and 29 respectively, as the weighted roller 43 tends to move closer to the wheel 40. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the point of nip 29 of the device 28, due to the wedging action of the presser roller 43 will always be above a horizontal line passing through the center of the grooved draw-off wheel 40 while point of nip 2! of the device 26 will be always below the horizontal line passng through the center of the grooved feed wheel 40.

It will thus be seen in accordance with the provisions of my invention I have eliminated the full wrap of the core about the wheel, and in addition I have provided a simple and nexpensive mechanism for advancing and stretching the strand material |5 during the covering operations. The design ,of my mechanism is such that it is not necessary to lift off the presser roll in order to thread the device in the event that breakage occurs since the shape of the groove 4| is such that it is self-threading andwill automatically draw in the inserted end of the rubber core or other strand material to be covered into proper Operative relation wth respect to the wheel 40 and the presser roller 43 when the end of core I is introduced within the groove 4| of the wheel 40 by insertion therein from a sidewise direction over the peripheral edge of the wheel 40.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims I intend that the term elastic strand as used herein should be interpreted to include not only the bare rubber core or thread material but also should be interpreted as including the finished covered rubber core or thread after the covering of yarn or other desired material has been applied thereto.

,The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

. I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, a driven grooved wheel fixedly positioned atone side of the path of travel of a strand and having a working portion to engage one side of the strand, 2. yielding. presser roller positioned at the QP OSite side of the strand and having a working portion to engage such side of the strand and coacting with the groove of the grooved wheel, means for swingably mounting and rotatably supporting said presser roller, and means for urging said presser roller into firm contact with the strand and the roller at all times being oblique to the normally vertical path of longitudinal advancing movement of said strand when the same is caused to be advanced by the rotation of said wheel whereby the point of nip of the strand in passing between the wheel and the roller is slightly offset from an extended line coincident with the normal vertical path of travel of the strand so that the strand will be pressed against the wheel by the roller as it swings toward the same to exert a wedging action on the strand at the point of nip and cause it to travel along a short are of wheel periphery during its advancing movement.

2. In an elastic strand covering machine, upper and lower strand advancing devices operable in unison for both causing longitudinal move ment of the elastic strand substantially vertically of the machine and for maintaining the portion of the vertically advancing strand extending between said devices under uniform tension and in a state of substantially constant predetermined elongation, each of said devices comprising a driven grooved wheel having a working portion adapted to normally engage one side of a strand, the axis of said wheel being positioned at one side of the strand and at substantially right angles to the direction of longitudinal movement of the strand, a presser roller at the opposite side of the strand from the grooved wheel, a support on which said presser roller is freely rotatable, said support being arranged for swinging movement toward said wheel to bodily move said roller into engagement with the strand, each of said swing able supports being fulcrumed at a point on the same side of the strand as the axis of the grooved wheel, and means for urging each of the presser rollers toward their respective cooperating grooved wheel and into firm contact with the strand to apply pressure against the same to press it against the working portion of the grooved wheel for causing the thus gripped strand to be tensioned and advanced longitudinally of its length and between said working portions upon positive rotation of said wheels, and means for 'postively driving said grooved wheel of the upper device at a greater speed than that of the lower device to effect such result.

3. In an elastic strand covering machine. upper and lower strand advancing devices operable in unison for both causing longitudinal movement of the elastic strand substantially vertically of the machine and for maintaining the portion of the vertically advancing strand extending between said devices under uniform tension and in a state of substantially constant predetermined elongation, each of said devices comprising a driven grooved wheel having a working portion adapted to normally engage one side of a strand, the axis of said wheel being positioned at one side of the strand and at substantially right angles to the direction of longitudinal movement of the strand, a presser roller at the opposite side of the strand from the grooved wheel, a support on which said presser roller is freely rotatable, said support being arranged for swinging movement toward said wheel to bodily move said roller into engagement with the strand, each of said swingable supports being fulcrumed at a point on the same side of the strand as the axis of the grooved wheel, and a weight carried by each of said swingable supports for urging the respective presser rollers toward their cooperating grooved wheels and into firm contact with the strand to apply pressure against the same to press it against the working portion of the grooved wheel for caus ing the thus gripped strand to be tensioned and advanced longitudinally of its length and between said working portions upon positive rotation of said wheels, and means for positively driving said grooved wheel of the upper device at a greater speed than that of the lower device to effect such result.

4. In an elastic strand covering machine, upper and lower strand advancing devices operable in unison for both causing longitudinal movement of the elastic strand substantially vertically of the machine and for maintaining the portion of the vertically advancing strand extending between said devices under uniform tension and in a state of substantially constant predetermined elongation, each of said devices comprising a driven grooved wheel having a working portion adapted to normally engage one side of a strand, the axis of said wheel being positioned at one side of the strand and at substantially right angles to the direction of longitudinal movement of the strand, a presser roller at the opposite side of the strand from the grooved wheel, and a support on which said presser roller is freely rotatable, said support being arranged for swinging movement toward said wheel to bodily move said roller into engagement with the strand, each of said swingable supports being fulcrumed at a point on the same side of the strand as the grooved wheels, and a weight carried by the swingable support of the upper device and disposed on the same side of the strand as the presser roller for urging the axis of the presser roller toward the cooperating grooved wheel and into firm contact with the strand to apply pressure against the same to press it against the working portion of the grooved wheel for causing the thus gripped strand to be tensioned and advanced longitudinally of its length and between said working portions upon positive rotation of said wheels, and means for positively driving said grooved wheel of the upper device faster than that of the lower device to effect such result.

5. In an elastic strand covering machine, upper and lower strand advancing devices operable in unison for both causing longitudinal movement of the elastic strand substantially vertically of the machine and for maintaining the portion of the vertically advancing strand extending between said devices under uniform tension and in a state of substantially constant predetermined elongation, each of said devices comprising a driven grooved wheel having a working portion adapted to normally engage one side of a strand, the axis of said wheel being positioned at one side of the strand and at substantially right angles to the direction of longitudinal movement of the strand, an idler presser roller at the opposite side of the strand from the grooved wheel, a support on which said presser roller is freely rotatable, said support being arranged for swinging movement toward said wheel to bodily move said roller into engagement with the strand, a pivot on which said support is iulcrumed for free swinging movement, said pivot being positioned on the same side of the strand as the axis of the grooved wheel and consisting of a knife edge, and means normally tending to urge the presser roller toward the grooved wheel and into engagement, with the strand to press the same against the working portion of the wheel whereby the strand will be tensioned and advanced longitudinally of its length and between such working portions upon positive rotation of the grooved wheel, and means for positively driving the grooved wheel of the upper device at a faster rate than that of the lower device.

6. In a machine of the character indicated a driven grooved wheel, a swingable support movable toward said wheel, a presser roller freely rotatable on said support and arranged for movement bodily therewith into coacting relation within the groove of said wheel upon swinging movement of said support toward the wheel, said presser roller having a working portion of narrower width than the width of the groove of the grooved wheel, the working portions of the groove of the wheel and the periphery of thepresser roller coacting to grip a strand at its opposite sides when it is positioned between said portions, so as to cause advancing movement of the gripped strand longitudinally of its length and also through the groove upon positive rotation of the wheel, and means for positively driving the grooved wheel, the peripheral edge of said roller being of rounded formation and the groove in the wheel being so shaped in crosssection as to cooperate with the periphery of the roller as to draw in the end of a piece of strand material when inserted from a sidewise direction into the groove and to automatically position strand into proper operative relation between the working portions of the wheel and the roller for causing longitudinal feeding of the strand.

7. In a machine of the character indicated a driven grooved wheel, a swingable support movable toward said wheel, a presser roller freely rotatable on said support and arranged for movement bodily therewith into coacting relation within the groove of said wheel upon swinging movement of said support toward the wheel, said presser roller having a working portion of narrower width than the width of the groove of the grooved wheel, the working portions of the groove of the wheel and the periphery of the presser roller coacting to grip a strand at its opposite sides when it is positioned between said portions, so as to cause advancing movement of the gripped strand longitudinally of its length and also through the groove upon positive rotation of the wheel, and means for positively driving the grooved wheel, the pivot for said swingable support being so located that the roller carried thereby will exert a wedging action on the strand by deflecting it from its substantially vertical path of travel and causing it to move along the periphery of the wheel in a short are in being held against the wheel by the roller as the strand is being advanced by the rotation of the wheel.

8. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of, the path of travel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the strand upon rotation of the members in unison, one of said members being a positively driven wheel and the other member a gravity-actuated idler roller, the points of nip of the roller and the wheel on the strand always being located at positions offset from a horizontal line extending through the axis of rotation of said wheel and at right angles to the path of travel of the strand for exerting a wedging action thereon.

9. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of the path oftravel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the same upon rotation of the members, one of said members being positively driven and the other member being an idler, means to positively rotate said positively driven member, a pivoted arm supporting said idler member at one end portion of the arm for free rotation thereon and capable of up and down movement, the pivot for the arm being on the same side of the strand as the axis of said positively-driven rotatable member and the arm being disposed in an extended position transversely across and ofiset from the vertical line of travel of the strand, and means for causing movement of said arm to press the idler member into firm engagement with the strand and hold the latter against the positively driven member with sufficient pressure to be gripped by the members and advanced therebetween upon rotation of the same.

10. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the same upon rotation of the members, one of said members being positively driven and the other member being an idler, means to positively rotate said positively driven member, a pivoted arm supporting said idler member at one end portion of the arm for free rotation thereon and capable of up and down movement, the pivot for the arm being located above and on the same side of the strand as the axis of said positively-driven rotatable member and the arm being disposed in an extended position transversely across and offset from the vertical line of travel of the strand, and means for causing movement of said arm to press the idler member into firm engagement with the strand and hold the latter against the positively driven member with sufiicient pressure to be gripped by the members and advanced therebetween upon rotation of the same.

11. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the same upon rotation of the members, one of said members being positively driven and the other member being an idler, means to positively rotate said positively driven member, a pivoted arm supporting said idler member at one end portion of the arm for free rotation thereon and capable of up anddown movement, the pivot for the arm being on the same side of the strand as the axis of said positively driven rotatable member and the arm being disposed in an extended position transversely across and oifset from the vertical line of travel of the strand, and a weight carried by said arm operative to urge the idler member into firm engagement with the strand and hold the latter against the positively driven member with sufficient pressure to be gripped by the members and advanced therebetween upon rotation 01 the same.

12. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the strand upon rotation of the members in unison, one of said members being a positively driven wheel and the other member a gravity-actuated idler roller, the peripheral face of said wheel being grooved for receiving and guiding the strand and the operating face of said idler roller extending into said groove and coacting therewith, the bottom of said groove in the wheel being provided with lateral corrugations to effect a firm frictional grip on the strand, and the points of nip of the roller and the wheel on the strand always being located at positions offset from a horizontal line extending through the axis of rotation of said wheel and at substantially right angles to the path of travel of the strand for exerting a wedging action thereon.

13. A device of the character described comprising a pair of cooperating rotatable members disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of a vertical run of strand material and movable relative to each other to engage and firmly grip the strand between them for advancing the same upon rotation of the members, one of said members being positively driven and the other member being an idler, means to positively rotate said positively driven member, a pivoted arm supporting said idler member at one end portion or the arm for free rotation thereon and capable of up and down movement, the pivot for the arm being on the same side of the strand as the axis of said positively driven rotatable member and the arm being disposed in an extended position transversely across and offset from the vertical line of travel of the strand, and a weight carried by said arm operative to urge the idler member into firm engagement with the strand and hold the latter against the positively driven member with sufficient pressure to be gripped by the members and advanced therebetween upon rotation of the same, said arm being swingable toward and away from the wheel in substantially the direction of the longitudinal extent of the strand material being fed to the device.

14. In an apparatus for making covered elastic yarn, the combination with means comprising upper and lower hollow spindles carrying packages of a textile material in vertically aligned wrappings of the covering material to an elastic core extending therethrough, of means for supplying the elastic core at a constant and predetermined linear velocity, means for tensioning to a predetermined degree the elastic core and removing it after it has been-covered with the textile covering material at a constant predetermined greater linear velocity than it is supplied, said last-named means including a positivelydriven wheel on one side of the strand and a cooperating idler roller on the other side of the strand mounted on a swingable support fulcrumed on the same side of the strand as the axis of rotation of said positively-driven wheel, said idler roller and its swingable support being actuated by gravity to press the roller into firm engagement with the strand and force the latter against the wheel with sufiicient pressure to be gripped between the members and advanced thereby upon rotation of the same.

JOHN PERRY.

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