US2352781A - Traversing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July 4; 1944.

' E; FLETCHER ET Al.

TRAVERS ING APPARATUS Filed Jan'. 1, 1945 @WHW Patented July li, :1944` TRAVERSIN G APPARATUS Ed Fletcher, Newark, and Edwin J. Fisher, Millersport, Ohio, assignors to Owens-Corningr Fiberglas Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation ot Delaware Application January 1, 1943, serial No. 411,220

1o claims. (o1. 242-43) 'I'his invention relates to apparatus for pack,

aging material in strand form at very high winding speeds. 1 The invention is especially applicable to fiber forming processes but has utility in ordinary rewinding.

In certain fiber forming processes such as the forming of glass fibers, the fibers as they are formed are collected in a strand and the strand is wound on a spool or other rotating support. The requirements for winding such a strand are somewhat diiferent than those presented in winding yarn. The strand is made up of a' large number of individual filaments which are not twisted together so that it does not possess integrity in the degree found in yarn. If the strand is wound about the spool with successive turns in side by side relation, as is usually the case in the winding of yarns, the laments in adjacent turns may become intertangled to such an extent that the identity of the individual strand is lost. Attempts to unwind a Package wound in such a manner usually results in several of the filaments 'of the strand breaking away from the strand and remaining on the package to form what are called rinsers. In many cases this dividing of the strand becomes so serious that a large portion ot the package cannot be unwound.

'resulting in a' large amount of waste.l

To guard against this dividing of the strand and the consequent formation of ringers, it is desirable to wind the strand on the Package in large helixes so that adjacent strands cross each other at large angles. Thisrsharply reducesv the liability of intertangling of thel laments of adjacent strands and it also permits ready removal ofany ringers that may form.

To obtain the desired type vof winding it has been found necessary to traverse the strand along the package as it is wound at such a rate that thestrand makes a complete traverse of the package in one direction for each one to two rotations of'the package. For most purposes anhalt-way wind, that is; a traverse half the length of the `package for each revolution thereof, has been found' completely satisfactory in permitting ready and complete unwlnding of the strand from the package. v

Another factor in obtaining a readily unwound package is the degree of tension '-on the .strand during the winding.` This is of special significance in the winding of newly formed glass filaments because of the inherent tendency of glass surfaces to seize and abrade each other when brought into contact. Undue tension during the winding also tends to squeeze out oi' the package any lubricant or coating material applied to the strand to prevent seizing and abrading of adjacent fibers, with the result that the strand is wound so tightly that the package takes on the semblance of a solid mass of glass. Such a package is, of course, almost impossible to efciently unwind.

Various traversing mechanisms have been suggested for use in the process of forming glass fiber strands. Most of these have had more or less serious limitations. One of the most suc-v cessful prior traversing mechanisms is that shown lin the Thomas and Fletcher Patent No. 2,325,640, granted Aug. 3, 1943, on application Serial No. 161,476 filed August 28,- 1937. This is a rotary traverse adaptable to very high speed operation in which the strand is drawn to the package at such an angle relative to the axis of the package that it tends to traverse along the package in one direction under the influence of its tendency to meet the package at a right angle. Traverse of the strand in the opposite direction is effected by engaging the strand periodically with a projection on a rotating disk.

moving the strand along the packase'and releasing it at the end thereof. whereupon it traverses along the package in the return direction due to its angular relation to the package.

This type of vmechanism is not completely satisfactory if it is attempted to greatly increase the speed ol' fiber formation by increasing the rate of winding of the strand. For example. at winding speeds in the range of 12,000 to 20,000 revolutions per minute it is necessary to move the strand in @ne direction along the full length of the package at a rate in the range of 6,000 to 10,000 times per `minute if av haliway vwind is to be obtained. VTo obtain these speeds of traverse the angularrelation between the strand and the package must be made much more acute to obtain such high speed movement of the strand along the package counter to the movement imparted to the strand by the traversing disk. However this more acute angular relation greatly increases the tension on the strand during the winding so that the increase in the tightness of the package offsets to large' extent any advantages obtained by increasing the speed of winding. Also, at the time the strand is engaged by a projection on the disk it is inclined in one direction to the package but as the projection proceeds to move the strand along the package the inclination of thestrand. between the projection and the package must be in the opposite direction. This change-in inclination results in a lag before actual reversal of traverse movement along the package takes place so that the ends of the package build up to greater thickness than the main body of the package. This further increases the diillculty of unwinding.

The present invention overcomes the diiiiculties mentioned by positively moving the strand in opposite directions lengthwise of the spool or other rotatable member with mechanism which eiects reversal of movement with the minimum lag. 'I'his arrangement not only enables obtaining higher traversing speeds but, in addition, minimizes the tendency for the strand to build up at the extremities of the package and thereby facilitates unwinding the strand from the package.

Another important feature of this invention is to provide high speed traversing mechanism constructed in a manner to apply a substantially straight vertical pull on the strand during the Winding operation. This feature is advantageous because it relieves the strand of a substantial amount of tension during the winding operation and permits obtaining a relatively loose package. Thus, a greater amount of material may be applied to the spool without disturbing the eiliciency of the unwinding characteristics of the package.

Still another object of this invention is to increase the rate of travel of the strand lengthwise of the spool with traversing mechanism which is operated at a relatively slow speed. In accordance with this invention the above is accomplished by providing a rotatable traversing element at one side of the strand having means for successively imparting a plurality of driving thrusts on the strand during one complete rotation of the traversing element to produce a corresponding nurnber of complete traversing movements of the strand in one direction lengthwise of the spool, and to provide a complementary traversing element supported at the opposite side of the strand for. rotation in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the nrst element to impart driving impulses to the strand opposed to the driving impulses produced by the first element. Also. inaccordance with this invention the two elements are rotated in out of phase relation so that the driving impulses imparted to the strand by one element alternate with the opposed driving impulses imparted to the strand by the other element to successively move the strand in opposite direction lengthwise of the spool.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for ready release of the strand from the traversing mechanism at the ends of the traversing movement in both directions and without the use of any additional strand-contacting .element to thereby limit the friction on the strand as it moves at high speed toward the package.

. The manner in which the above arrigement enables increasing the rate of packaging or winding a strand of material without correspondingly increasing the speed of operation of the travers- `ing equipment will be more clearly understood by examining a hypothetical case. Assuming, for example, that each traversing element imparts-three complete traversing movements to the strand during one complete rotation of the elements and that the spool makes two complete revolutions during each traversing movement of the strand, it follows that the speed of rotation of the traversing elements need be only one-sixth of the speed of rotation of the spool to build a half-way wind. Thus. the strand may be wound on the spool at a rate considerably higher than the-speed of rotation of the traversing mechanism and this not only makes it practical to package the material at appreciably higher speeds but also reduces the wear of the traversing mechanism to a minimum.

The foregoing, as well as other objects, will be made more `apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a front elevational view, partly diagrammatic and partly in section, of traversing equipment constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the winding mechanism shown in Figure 1; and

Figure' 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken on the line G- of Figure 2.

Briefly. a suitable strand of material is packaged Iby winding the same on a rotatable member or spool which is rotated at a high speed in order to package the maximum amount of material in the minimum length of time. The strand of material is, of course, successively moved inopposlte directions lengthwise bf the spool during rotation and at a rate to move the strand halt the length of the package during each complete revo lution of the spool to build a half-wound package although the speed of traverse may be varied as desired.

In accordance with this invention the required rate of traversing is obtained with traversin! mechanism which operates at only 'a fraction of the speed of rotation of the package. In general, this is accomplished by supporting a pair-'of traversing elements on opposite sides of the strand for rotation in opposite directions and by providing means on each element for imparting a plurality of complete traversing movements to the strand during one complete rotation of the elements. 'I'he elements are rotated in out of phase relation so that the means on one element alternates with the means on the other element to successively move the strand in opposite directions lengthwise ofthe spool. Thus, if the spool is rotated at 12,000 revolutions per minute'and if three complete traversing movements are imparted to the strand foreach rotation of the traversing elements, the latter need be rotated aty only 2,000 revolutions per minute instead ofthe considerably higher speed of 6,000 revolutions or reciprocations per minute heretofore required with most traversing equipment.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, the reference character .I0 indicates a strand of material to be packaged and the reference character l I indicates a spool about which the strand is to be wound. The spool Il is operatively connected to a spindle I2 in the usual manner and the spindle is rotated by suitable mechanism. not shown.

Two spiders I3 and Il are respectively sup-r ported above the spool Il at opposite sides of the strand l0 for rotation about axes generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the spool and located in a common plane acutely angularly related to the plane of the strand that is parallel to the spool axis. As shown in Figure 3. the spiders are respectively secured to shafts l5 and I6 supported for rotation in suitable bearings in a housing i6'. The shafts I5 and, I6 are shown as operatively connected by gearing I8 in such a manner that the spiders are not only rotated at the same speed but are also rotated in opposite directions. A motor I1 fixed to the housing carries a pinion I1 onv its shaft, which meshes wi h one oi the gears of the gearing yil to drive the spiders. l

Upon reference to Figure l of the drawing, it will be noted that each spider comprises a plurality oi' radially outwardlyextending arms I2 spaced equal distances vfrom each other circumferentially of the spider.

'Ihe spider I3 has strand-engaging bins 2li respectively carried by the arms Il thereof at the radially outer ends and the spider I4 is provided with similar pins 2 I. 'Ihe pins associated with the spiders extend in the general direction of the axes of rotation of the respective spiders and are inclined slightly in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the respective spiders to insure ease of movement of f the strand along the pins and for quickly releasing the strand at the ends of the traversing movements in either direction.

The spiders, in addition to being rotated in opposite directions at the same speed, are also rotated in such out of phase relationship that the arms I9 on one spider respectively extend into the spaces provided between adjacent armsl I5 of the other spider during rotation of the spiders. Also the spiders are so positioned with respect to the spool I I that the pins on the respective spiders alternate with each other to successively move the strand I0 in opposite directions lengthwise of the spool II to form a package 22 on the periphery of the spool.

Referring to Figure 2 it will be noted that the spiders are rotatably supported about axes located in a common plane inclined atan included angle less than a right angle Vto the strand so that the pins on the ends of the spider arms I9 move into the plane of thestrand parallel to the spool axis at the lower portion of their path of travel and out of the said plane of thestrand at the upper portion of their path of travel. The points at which the pins move into and out of the plane of the strand are represented by the intersection between the plane dened by the ends of the pins and the plane of the strand. To obtain the most emcient operation with as little lag as possible between the "traversing movements in opposite directions, it is desirable to cause the pin that is traversing the strand to move out of the plane of the strand at the instant that the pin that is to return the strand comes into contact with the strand. This relation of the traversing spiders is represented by dotted lines in Figure l.

Adjustment of the apparatus to obtain perfect cooperation between the two spiders and the strand is made by moving the spiders toward and from a vertical plane passing through the axis of the package. Such adjustment varies the point at which the strand-engaging pin moves out of the piane of the strand. However such adjustment need not necessarily vary the position of the end of the package because the end of traversing movement is usually deilned by the point at which the pin that is to reversely traverse the strand comes into contact with the strand.

As previouslymentioned, it is preferable to have the strand released by one pin at the instant the pin that is to return the strand comes into contact with the strand, but this is principally to hold to a minimum the friction on the strand and the two pins may be in contact with the strand for a perceptible part of the traversing operation should this be found desirable. Adjustment of the spindle toward and from the vertical plane passing through the axis of the package may be accomplished by moving the standard 2i upon which the housing I6' is supported toward and from the spool. Such movement is provided for by securing the standard to a suitable platform by ymeans of bolts 26 passing through elongated slots 2"'V in the base of the standard.

In detail, the arrangement is such that as one of the pins 2l on the spider I 4 releases the strand I0 after advancing the latterthroughout one complete traversing movement in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figure l. the advancing pin 2li on the spider I2 engages the strand I0 and moves the latter in the opposite direction along the spool II. By the time the strand I0 is released by the spider I3. the

next succeeding pin 2I onthe spider Il engages the strand and again moves the latter in the direction A. Thus, it will be seen that the traversing movement of the strand vi0 is reversed at both ends of the package without an appreciable lag. This is advantageous because it prevents building-up of the strand at the ends of the package. Moreover, the speed of rotation of the spiders need be only a fraction of the speed of rotation of the spool Il because the spiders effect a plurality of traversing movements of the strand in opposite directions for each revolutionv of the spiders. In the present instance, each spider is provided with three arms and, accordingly, three complete traversing movements of the strand in opposite directions lengthwise oi the spool Il is eifected during each complete revolution of the spiders. However, it should be understood that the number of complete traversing movements of the strand obtained for each rotation of the spiders may be readily changed by merely altering the number of arms on the spiders. We prefer employing three arms ybecause anyr number less than threel reduces the eillciency of the device and any number greater than three complicates the timing of the equipment to produce the proper length Yof package.

Although it will be apparent as this description proceeds that the packaging apparatus may be successfully employed in packaging strands of practically any material, nevertheless, for the purpose of illustrating this invention the packaging equipment is shown in combination with apparatus for manufacturing thermoplastic ilbers or strands such, for example, as glass bers or strands. I

With the above in view reference is again made to Figure l wherein the reference character 22' Thomas Patent No. 2,234,986 dated March 18,

i941. However, the above apparatus is merely shown herein for the purpose of illustrating the presentk invention and it is to be understood that various other specic constructions of melters and bushings may be successfully used.

Regardless of the speciilc construction of the melter and bushing used, the arrangement is such as to provide for the iiow oi'v molten glass in the form of streams from a suitable source or body of glass. In the present instance, the streams of molten glass are attenuated to form fibers and the iibers are collected by a pad 25 to form a group or strand of bers. The streams are attenuated by the revoluble spool Il upon which the strand is wound, although other attenuating means may be employed if desired without departing from the spirit and scope of vthis invention. .The traversing spiders are located between the pad '25 and spool H. and cooperate with each other in the manner previouslydescribed to successively move the strand in opposite directions lengthwise of the spool Il to form the package 22.

Various modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scopeoi the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for packaging material in strand form comprising a rotatable spool about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound. a member supported at one side of the strand for movement in a circular path about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the spool and having circumferentially spaced strand-engaging portions successively engageable with the strand, a second member supported at the opposite side of the strand for movement in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the iirst member and in a plane common therewith about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the rst member, and a plurality of crcumferentially spaced strand-engaging portions on the second member alternating with the strand-engaging portions on the tlrst member to successively move the strand in opposite directions lengthwise of the spool.

2. Apparatus for packaging material in strand form comprising a rotatable member about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound, a pair of spiders supported for rotation about axes respectively at opposite sides of the strand and extending substantially perpendicular to the axis oi the rotatable member and each spider having a plurality of radially extending arms, astrandengaging element projecting from the radially outer end portion of each arm, and means for rotating the spiders in opposite directions in such phase relationship that the arms on one spider successively extend into thespace between adjacent arms on the other spider and the strandengaging elements on the respective spiders alternately engage the strand at opposite sides to successively move the latter in opposite directions substantially lengthwise of the rotatable member.

3. Apparatus for packaging material in strand form comprising a rotatable member about which a strand .of material is adapted to be wound, a spider supported at one side of the strand for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the rotatable member and having-a plurality of radially extending arms, a second spider supported at the opposite side of the strand for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the iirst spider and having a plurality of arms corresponding in number to the number of arms on the rst spider, means for rotating the spiders in opposite directions in such phase relationship that the arms on one spider successively enter the space between adjacent arms on the other spider, and strand-engaging portions respectively carried by the arms of the second spider and alternating with strand-engaging portions on the arms of the ilrst spider to successively move the strand in opposite directions lengthwise of the rotatable member.

4. Apparatus for packaging strands comprising a rotatable member about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound and a source of material in strand form, a pair otv rotatable traversing elements respectively located at oppositesides of the path of the'strand as it is drawn from the source to the rotatable member, a plurality of strand-engaging projections extending laterally from each element in spaced relation to' each other circumterentiallyoi the latter, means supporting the elements -ior movement in circular paths about axes extendingA perpendicular to the axis of the rotatable member and inclined to the strand at such an angle that the circular paths of said elements are located in a plane'acutely angularly related tothe strand to enable the projections on each element to successively engage the strand, and means for rotating the elements in opposite directions in such phase relationship that the projections on'one element alternate with the projections on the other element to successively move thevstrand'in opposite directions lengthwise of the rotatable member.

5. Apparatus for packaging material in strand form comprising a rotatable member about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound, a pair of spiders respectively located at opposite sides of the strand and each spider having a plurality of radially outwardly extending arms, a strand-engaging projection on the radially outer end portion of each arm, means supporting the spiders for rotation about axes extending substantially perpendicular to the axis oi rotation of the rotatable member and inclined at such an angle to enable the projections on each spider to successively engage the strand, and means for rotating the spiders in opposite directions in such phase relationship that the arms on one spider extend between adjacent arms on the other spider and the projections on the arms of one spider alternate with the projections on the arms of the other spider to successively move the strand in opposite directions lengthwise oi the rotatable member.

6. Winding apparatus comprising a spool about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound and a source from which the strand is drawn by the spool, a pair of rotatable traversing spiders located respectively at opposite sides of the path of the strand on its way from the source to the spool, each of said spiders including a plurality o! strand-engaging elements extending transversely of the path of the strand and movable in a circular path that is acutely angularly inclined to the plane of the strand parallel to the spool axis, whereby the elements move in the plane of the strand throughout the portion of their travel adjacent the spool and move outside of said plane throughout the remainder of the travel, said circular paths overlapping a distance at least as great as the length of the traverse, and means for rotating each of said pair of spiders respectively in opposite directions to cause the strand-engaging elements of one of said traversing spidersto engage the strand alternately with said elements of the other of saidspiders and thereby traverse the strand back and forthalong said package.

'1. Winding apparatus comprising a spool about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound and a source from which the strand is drawn by the spool, a pair of traversing means located respectively at opposite sides of the path qt the said elements being inclined away from. the direction of movement thereof, the axes oi' rota tion of said traversing means being spaced apart a distance less. than the diameter of said circular paths of movement of said elements, and means for rotating each of said pair of traversing means respectively in opposite directions to cause the strand-engaging elements of one oi' said traversing means to engsethe strand alternately with said elements of the other of said traversing means and thereby traverse the strand back and forth along said package.

8. Winding apparatus comprising a spool about which a strand of material isy adapted to be wound and a source from which the strand is drawn by the spool, a pair of traversing means located respectively at opposite sides of the path of the strand on its way from the source to the spool, each of said traversing means including three radially disposed arms provided with strand-engaging elements extending transversely of the path of the strand and movable in a circular path that is acutely angularly inclined to the plane of the strand parallel to the spool axis, whereby the elements move in the plane of the strand throughouty their portion of the travel adjacent the spool and move outside of said plane throughout the remainder of the travel, and means for rotating each of said pair of traversing means respectively in opposite directions to cause the said strand-engaging elements of one of said traversing means to engage the strand alternately with said elements of the other of said traversing means and thereby traverse the strand back and forth along said package.

9. Winding apparatus comprising a spool about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound and a source from which the strand is drawn by the spool, a pair of rotatable shafts located respectively at opposite sides of the strand, each of said shafts being provided with a plurality of substantially radially extending arms equally spaced about said shaft, strand-engaging pins onthe outer ends of said arms extending in the general direction of the shafts, whereby the' pins of each shaft are moved in a circular path upon rotation of the shaft, the axes of rotaless than the diameter of said circular paths but greater than the radius thereof to cause the cir- .cular paths to overlap, and means for rotating saidshafts at the same speed in opposite directions. i

l0. Winding apparatus comprising a spool about which a strand of material is adapted to be wound and a source from which the strand is drawn by the spool, a pair oi' rotatable shafts located respectively at opposite sides of the strand, each of said shafts being provided with a plurality of substantially radially extending arms equally spaced aboutsaid shaft, strand-engaging pins on the outer ends of said arms extending in the general direction of the shafts, whereby the pins of each shaft are moved in a circular path upon rotation of the shaft, the axesv of rotation of said shafts being spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of said circular paths but greater than the radius thereof to cause the circular paths to overlap, an operative connection between said shafts to cause them to rotate with the arms of one shaft intersecting the spaces between adjacent arms on the other shaft, and

40 means for rotating said shafts at the same speed in opposite directions.

ED FLETCHER. EDWIN J. FISHER.

tion of said shafts being spaced apart a distance v

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