US2706604A

US2706604A - Strand guide

Info

Publication number: US2706604A
Application number: US351953A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alphonse F Pieper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-04-29
Filing date: 1953-04-29
Publication date: 1955-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 1972-04-19

Description

April 19, 1955 A, F PlEPER 2,706,604

STRAND GUIDE Filed April 29. 1953 Fla? INVENTOR. ALPHONSE F PlEPE/ BY w M*- ATTORNEY United States Patent O STRAND GUIDE Alphonse F. Pieper, Brighton, N. Y.

Application April 29, 1953, Serial No. 351,953

5 Claims. (Cl. 242-157) This invention relates to a strand guide such as employed in winding machinery, with reference more particularly to a strand guide formed of refractory non-conducting material such as disclosed in Patent No. 2,579,011, December 18, 1951, and has for its purpose to afford a strand guide that eliminates fraying and wear of the synthetic yarn or other material traveling over the guide resulting from formation of static electricity on the outer surface of the guide against which the strand engages when traveling through the guide.

Strand guides of refractory material have been developed to obviate the wear and short life of metal strand guides, and it has been found that in the use of refractory strand guides, a charge of static electricity is produced over the strand-engaging surface of the guide which causes fraying and wear of the strand as it passes thereover, and it is an objective of this invention to prevent the formation of such static electricity or to carry off the static charge as soon as it is produced, and thus obviate any effect on the strand that would otherwise result from an electrostatic charge on the surface of the guide, due to the strand traveling over and rubbing agairlist the surface of non-conducting refractory materia A further purpose of the invention is to provide simple, practical, and relatively inexpensive means for conducting an electrostatic charge away from the strand-engaging surface of a guide formed of refractory non-conducting material through the instrumentality of a current-conducting element located in or adjacent to the strand-engaging surface of the guide and connected electrically with the metal supporting arm on which the guide is mounted.

T these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in con- F junction with the accompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specication.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a strand guide mounted on a supporting arm and constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the locking plate which holds the conducting insert in position;

Fig. 6 is a view in rear elevation of the guide;

Fig. 7 is a plan View of a modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, and to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, 1 designates a supporting bar which is of conventional construction such as heretofore used for holding a strand guide in operative position on a winding machine, the supporting bar including inclined side edges 2 that engage and grip cooperating inclined surfaces on the guiding head, as will appear presently.

The guiding head is formed of any suitable non-conducting refractory hard material such as Heanium, and includes spaced prongs 3 at its outer end between ICC which the strand passes at the base of the recess 4, and a generally convex strand-engaging surface 5 on its outer face which the strand contacts as it travels thereover to an adjacently positioned cone or cylinder, in accord with well known practices in the winding machine art.

The strand-engaging surface 5 is on the outer face of the guiding head while its opposite face is provided with a channel including the inclined surfaces against which the inclined edges 2 of the supporting bar engage, as described above. The guiding head is held in place on the supporting bar by means of a bolt 6 which extends through the supporting bar 1 and has threaded engagement with a nut 7 that is slidable endwise of the guiding head in an undercut groove of less width than the channel and located thereunder. The inclined edges 8 on the nut are held against correspondingly inclined surfaces on the undercut groove by means of the bolt 6 when the latter is tightened, thus locking the guiding head tightly on the supporting bar.

With such a structure, considerable static electricity is formed on the strand-engaging surface on the outer face of the head, and to overcome this and carry off such electrostatic charge, there is provided current-conducting means extending from the strand-engaging surface to the supporting bar which is mounted on the frame of the machine, thus operating to` carry off any electric charge that may be formed on the outer face of the head and prevent its having effect on the strands of yarn or other fibers passing thereover, and one means by which this is accomplished will now be described.

In the preferred form as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the guiding head is provided with an opening extending therethrough from its outer to its inner face, the outer portion of said opening being shallow and located centrally of the strand-engaging surface with a shape to receive a generally oblong or oval-shaped metal current-conducting element or insert 9 that lits into the shallow recess in the outer face of the head and is flush with the strand-engaging surface thereof.

The metal conducting insert 9 has a threaded opening that receives a threaded pin 11 formed as part of a locking plate 12 which seats against a shoulder within the guiding head surrounding a reduced opening through which extends the threaded pin 11 and the internally threaded collar 13 formed as part of the metal insert 9 and into which the pin 11 is threaded. The locking plate 12 is provided with notches 14 to enable conveniently tightening it in the collar 13. The shoulder against which the locking plate 12 rests is at the bottom of an enlarged opening 15 within the guiding head that receives a coil spring 16 surrounding the bolt 6 and compressed between the locking nut 7 and the locking plate 12.

After the metal insert 9 is positioned and secured in place by the locking plate 12, the spring 16 is inserted into the opening above the locking plate 12, referring to Fig. 4, and the locking nut 7 is then inserted into the groove in which it is finally located by sliding it endwise of the head, while depressing the spring 16 to maintain it under tension between the locking nut 7 and the locking plate 12. Thus when the head' is attached to the supporting bar 1 by tightening the bolt 6 and clamping the head on to the supporting bar, there is a currentconducting circuit from the strand-engaging surface of the head to the supporting bar through the metal insert 9 which is flush with the strand-engaging surface, thence through the locking plate 12, metal spring 16, nut 7, and bolt 6 to the supporting bar. In this manner, any electrostatic charge developed on the strand-engaging surface of the head is immediately carried off and the lsltraid is in no way affected by static charges on the In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, the head is provided with a current-conducting band 17 that extends transversely across the strand-engaging surface of the head, around the sides of the head, and over the rear edges thereof into the channel in which the supporting bar is located. Thus when the supporting bar is in position, it is in contact with the conducting band 17 and any electrostatic charge developed on the outer surface of the head is thus carried olf to the supporting bar and fraying of the strand is prevented. The band 17 lay be of any suitable conducting material preferably .ich as lead solder that is adhered to a silver band 18 iat is rst attached to the surface of the refractory ma- :rial in any suitable fashion and forms a bond thererith, the lead solder conducting band being readily atachable to the silver band in any suitable fashion. The onducting band may be attached to any meal band or ayer that will adhere to the refractory body.

While the invention has been described with reference o the particular structure shown herein, the application s not confined to the details disclosed and is intended o cover any modifications or departures coming Within he purposes of the improvement and the scope of the 'ollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A strand guide of refractory non-conducting mate- 'ial having on its outer face a generally convex strand- :ngaging surface which a strand contacts when traveling ;hrough the guide and having a channel in its opposite Eace to receive a metal supporting bar, and current-conducting means located in electrical contact with said strand-engaging surface and extending from said strandengaging surface to said supporting bar.

2. A strand guide of refractory non-conducting material having on its outer face a generally convex strandengaging surface which a strand contacts when traveling through the guide and having a channel in its opposite face to receive a metal supporting bar, and current-conducting means located in electrical contact with said strand-engaging surface and extending from said strandengaging surface over the outer face of the guide and around a side thereof to a point adjacent to and in contact with the supporting bar.

3. A strand guide of refractory non-conducting material having on its outer face a generally convex strandengaging surface which a strand contacts when traveling through the guide and having in its opposite face a channel to receive a metal supporting bar, the strand guide having an opening extending therethrough from its outer face to said channel in its inner face, a current-conducting element located in said opening in the center of and ush with said strand-engaging surface, and current-conducting means extending from said current-conducting element through said opening to the metal supporting 4. A strand guide of refractory non-conducting material having on its outer face a generally convex strandengaging surface which a strand contacts when traveling through the guide and having a channel in its opposite face to receive a metal supporting bar, the strand guide having an opening extending therethrough from its outer face to said channel in its inner face, an insert of currentconducting material located in said opening flush with and arranged centrally of said strand-engaging surface, a locking plate arranged in said opening against a retaining shoulder and having threaded engagement with said conducting insert, a locking nut positioned in an undercut groove between said supporting bar and said locking plate, a bolt extending through an opening in said supporting bar and having threaded engagement With the aforesaid nut, and a metal coil spring located between said locking nut and said locking plate and acting to complete a circuit from said conducting insert to said supporting bar.

5. A strand guide of refractory non-conducting material having on its outer face a generally convex strandengaging surface which a strand contacts when traveling through the guide and having a channel in its opposite face to receive a metal supporting bar, the strand guide also having an undercut groove adjacent to said channel and an opening extending through from its outer face to said channel in its inner face, said opening including an enlarged portion adjacent to said undercut groove, a reduced portion affording a shoulder adjacent to said enlarged portion, and an elongated generally oblong portion arranged centrally of and extending transversely of said convex surface, an elongated generally oblong current-conducting insert arranged in said elongated opening flush with said strand-engaging surface and having an internally threaded collar extending into said reduced portion of the opening, a locking plate positioned against said shoulder and having a threaded pin in engagement with said threaded collar, a locking nut positioned in said undercut groove, a bolt extending through an opening in said supporting bar and having threaded engagement with the aforesaid nut, and a metal coil spring arranged in said enlarged portion of the opening and engaging the locking nut and locking plate at its ends.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,895,165 Madden Jan. 24, 1933 1,912,256 Coradi May 30, 1933 2,202,937 Wolfe June 4, 1940 2,256,568 Nelson Sept. 23, 1941 2,293,983 Jackson Aug. 25, 1942 2,307,664 Brookshire Ian. 5, 1943 2,579,011 Pieper Dec. 18, 1951