US2937489A - Drawtwister - Google Patents

Description

y 1960 J. E. BROMLEY 2,937,489

DRAWTWISTER Filed Dec. 16, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l F/ INVENTOR.

' JAMES E BRO/MLE Y ATTpRA/EY J. E. BROMLEY DRAWTWISTER May 24, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1957 INVENTOR. JAMES E BRO/14L EV BY w fl/awfim ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,937,489 DRAWTWISTER James E. Bromley, Pensacola, Fla., assignor to The Chemstrand Corporation, vDecatur, Ala., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16, 1957, Ser. No. 702,889

2 Claims. (Cl. 57-90) This invention relates to an improvement in textile machinery and more particularly to an improvement in a drawtwister employed for drawing and twisting filamentary material such as nylon or the like. It is particularly applicable to a drawtwister of the type manufactured by the Whitin Machine Works of Whitinsville, Massachusetts.

In the processing of filamentary material, a common operation performed on synthetic material such as continuous filament nylon and the like, is a drawing operation for orienting the molecules in the filaments and imparting tensile strength thereto. In one type of textile machinery such as drawtwisters the filamentary material is drawn in a predetermined ratio and subsequently twisted a selected amount to give a twisted-filamentary end product having the desired physical properties.

In a drawtwister such as referred to above, the drawing operation is carried out between feed rolls and draw rolls in accordance with well known drawing or drafting principles and the speed ratio between the feed and draw rolls is established in accordance with the stretch ratio desired.

It has been found, however, that during the rotation of the shaft on which the feed rolls are posi-' such as nylon on the machine failed to produce an end product having the desired uniform physical properties. For instance, the torsional vibration in the shaft interfered with the drawing operation and produced drawn filaments which were not uniform in cross-sectional area and denier. As can be understood, this lack of filament uniformity inhibited subsequent treatment of the filaments such as dyeing wherein it was found that the dyed filaments tended to streak.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a new and novel improvement on textile machinery such as drawtwisters and the like which are provided with components for performing a filament drawing operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel combination of elements in a drawtwister which utilizes a flexible coupling so that the torsional vibration in the drawtwister shafting is reduced or sub stantially eliminated.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and novel coupling arrangement for flexibly coupling the feed roll shaft or shafts of a drawtwister to its driving means for improving the quality and uniformity of synthetic filaments processed by the drawtwister.

This invention further contemplates the provision of a new and novel coupling arrangement for a drawtwister "ice 2 of the type manufactured by the Whitin Machine Works of Whitinsville, Massachusetts, which renders the drawtwister more 'eflicient in operation in the processing of synthetic filaments and which is of such hovel construction as to be simply and easily installed.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and novel combination of a flexible coupling anda textile drawtwister which permits the installation of the flexible coupling without dismantling or removing the shafts to be connected, which is inexpensive in construction, which'is capable of prolonged use without danger of breakdown, and which virtually eliminates 'torsional vibration in the feed roll shaft or shafts of the drawtwister so that an end product of uniform physical properties is produced.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

The objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a flexible coupling which is preferably, but not necessarily, of a specific construction to permit easy installation on the roll shafting of a drawtwister such as the drawtwister manufactured by the Whitin Machine Works of Whitinsville, Massachusetts. In the preferred embodiment, the flexible coupling connects the driving shaft of the drawtwister to the feed roll shaft or shafts so that torsional vibration which develops in the feed roll shaft during operation of the apparatus is dampened or eliminated in the coupling. The specific coupling employed includes a resilient coupling member which is positioned 'in coupling relationship with the driving and feed roll shafts of the drawtwister, and means are provided for connecting the end portions of the shafts to the resilient coupling member. Clamping means are also provided for clamping the couling member in the shaft coupling relationship.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to'its organization and method of operation may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a partial diagrammatic view of the drawtwister with'which this invention is incorporated;

Figure 2 is a partial view taken substantially along line 22 of Figure 1 in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a flexible coupling incorporated with the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 4 in the direction of the arrows.

- Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in Figure 1 a drawtwister of which this invention represents an improvement. This drawtwister is shown diagrammatically for the purpose of clarity and is preferably of the type manufactured by the Whitin Machine Works of Whitinsville, Massachusetts. As is well known, the drawtwister of Figure 1 is employed to draw and twist filamentary material for molecular orientation of the filaments and to provide a twisted end product. In the particular drawtwister referred to above a bracket or support 11 is provided centrally of the machine and is arranged to support arms 12 which accommodate thread packages such as wound spin bobbins 13 or the like. As is well known, such a drawtwister may be used to drawtwist synthetic filaments such as nylon and it is with reference to the drawtwisting of nylon that the invention will be described hereinafter. Furthermore, it will be noted that the bracket 11 is arranged to support spin bobbins 13 on opposite sides of the machine in order to increase its capacity. For the purposes of simplicity and clarity the operation of one side of the machine only will be described hereinafter, but it should be understood that duplicate apparatus is positioned on each side of the drawtwister. Furthermore, it should be understood that on eachside of the machine a plurality of spin bobbins 13 are arranged according to the number of individual strands or threads tobe processed.

In the operation of the drawtwister of Figure 1, a thread 14, which has been initially packaged on the spin bobbin 13 is unwound from the spin bobbin and carried through a snub guide 16 and a snubber 17 in a downward direction. The direction of the thread is then changed by means of a traverse guide 18 so that it moves from the traverse guide 18 upwardly behind a top or cot roll 19 pivotally mounted by means of an arm 21. By means of the pivotal arm 21 the top roll 19 may be moved into engagement with a feed roll 22 so that the thread 14 may be held therebetween as it advances downwardly through the drawtwister.

The roll 22 as shown in Figure 2 is preferably an integral part of an elongated shaft 23 referred to generally as the feed roll shaft. Feed roll means including cooperating top and feed rolls 19, 22 are spaced longitudinally of the shaft 23 and are of a selected number so as to correspond to the number of threads 14 processed by the drawtwister. The feed roll shaft 23 is supported, as shown inFigure 2, by any suitable means such as bearings 24, and is arranged to be driven in a manner described hereinafter.

The thread 14 advancing from the feed roll 22 moves around a draw pin 26 and is wrapped or laced a multiple number of turns around a separator pin 27 and draw roll 28. The draw roll 28 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 29 and is driven by any suitable means (not shown) a portion of which is contained within a housing 31. As is well known, the draw roll 28 which is rotated at a selected higher speed than the feed roll shaft 23 im-' poses a drawing or stretching action on the thread 14 so that the filament or filaments are stretched at the draw pin 26 and the molecules in the thread filaments are oriented.

Subsequent to this stretching or drawing operation, the thread advances through a balloon guide 32 and to a ring traveler 33 loosely mounted on a traveler ring 34. As is well known, the traveler ring 34 is arranged to be moved vertically in a reciprocating manner by means of a lay rail 36 while the thread 14 is wound in a twisted manner on a bobbin 37 supported on a spindle 38 suitably driven by means such as a belt 39. Thus, the nylon thread 14 is wound in a drawn and twisted manner on the bobbin 37 in a packaged form.

In the drawtwisting of synthetic filaments such as nylon, it has been found that the feed roll shaft 23 is subject to considerable torsional vibration due to many factors such as bearing drag, high shaft flexibility, and the like. Furthermore, it was found that as a result of this torsional vibration the thread 14 was not drawn properly at the draw pin 26 with the result that uniform filament diameter was not obtained and erratic denier resulted in the thread 14. This is highly objectionable particularly where the thread is subjected to a subsequent dye operation as dye streaks appeared in the thread filaments.

Means, therefore, have been provided with this invention for reducing or substantially eliminating this feed roll shaft torsional vibration. More specifically, the feed roll shaft 23 on each side of the machine is connected at one end to driving means, designated generally by the numeral 40, by means of a flexible coupling designated generally by the numeral 41. Any suitable type of driving means may be employed and preferably relatively short driving shafts 42 are arranged in coaxial alignment with the ends of the feed roll shafts so that they may be connected thereto by means of the coupling 41. These driving shafts 42 which may be supported .within suitable bearing means 43 are driven by means of bevel gears 44 connected as shown to a main drive shaft 46. By means such as spur gears 47 connected to a suitable source of power (not shown) the main drive shaft 46 is rotated to drive the pair of feed roll shafts 23 shown in Figure 2 simultaneously and at the same speed.

While it should be understood that any suitable type of flexible coupling may be provided for dampening or eliminating the torsional vibration in the feed roll shafts 23, there is shown in Figures 3-5 a flexible coupling which is preferably incorporated with the illustrated drawtwister. This flexible coupling, which has been designated by the numeral 41, is arranged in a manner, as will be obvious in the explanation to follow, to drivably couple the feed roll shaft 23 to the driving shaft 42.

In order to connect the shafts 23, 42, in driving engagement, a resilient coupling member 48 is positioned in coupling relationship with the opposed ends of the shafts. Although a tubular form may be employed, the coupling member 48 is preferably fabricated in planar form and is subsequently wrapped in circumferentially extending relationship with the ends of the shafts as shown in- Figures 3-5.

Means are provided for connecting the shafts to this resilient sleeve member which in the preferred embodiment comprises a pair of keys 49, 50 which are positioned within longitudinally aligned recesses 51, 52, respectively, in the resilient sleeve member 48. These keys 49, 50 are also arranged to be inserted within corresponding recesses 53, 54 in the shafts 42, 23, respectively, when the shafts have been rotated into the proper angular relationship.

Means are provided for clamping the resilient sleeve member 48 in the assembled position illustrated which include a pair of hemispherical half- shells 55, 56, arranged to cooperate in complementary relationship to form a tubular clamp. The half- shells 55, 56 are clamped in the clamping position by any suitable means such as a plurality of bolts 57 arranged on diametrically opposite sides of the half-shells and preferably in an inverted relationship for positive clamping action.

Although the sleeve member 48 may be dimensioned so as to form a closed cylindrical member in the assembled position, it is preferably shortened so that its opposed ends define a space 58 for accommodating a longitudinally extending key 59 located partially within a recess 60 in the inner wall of the upper half-shell as shown best in Figure 4. By means of this key 59, relative motion between the complementary half- shells 55, 56 and the sleeve member 48 is prevented.

It can be seen that by means of this invention a coupling arrangement has been provided for the feed roll shafts of a drawtwister of the type illustrated and described above which enables the drawing or stretching operation of the filamentary threads to be carried out in a relatively vibrationless manner. The feed roll shafts may, therefore, be rotated at a uniform speed so that the thread advancing therethrough moves at a relatively constant speed. Any tendency of the feed roll shaft to vibrate torsionally would be dampened by the resilient sleeve member of the flexible coupling acting in shear. Drawtwisted thread which heretofore was characterized by erratic physical properties may now be drawn and subsequently twisted so that filaments of uniform denier and superior dyeing characteristics are produced. Furthermore, the coupling employed as described with the drawtwister is rugged in construction and will sustain high acceleration and deceleration rates while transmitting'a relatively heavy torque. In addition, the coupling described may be installed quickly or readily repaired without removing or disassembling the associated parts of the equipment.

While there has been described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and, therefore, it is the aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A drawtwister for drawing and twisting filamentary material comprising, in combination, a feed roll shaft rotatably mounted on said drawtwister, feed roll means on said shaft, means for driving said feed roll shaft including a driving shaft, a flexible coupling for drivably coupling said driving shaft to said feed roll shaft, and draw roll means rotatably mounted on said drawtwister and positioned to receive the filamentary material from said feed roll means, said flexible coupling including a Having thus described the invention, what is claimed a 10 half-shells arranged to form a tubular clamp concentric to be positioned in encircling relationship with the end portions of said driving and feed rollshafts when said end portions are positioned in substantially coaxial endwise relationship, means for connecting each of said shaft end portions to said sheet material, and means for clamping said sheet material to the end portions of said shafts.

2. A drawtwister in accordance with claim 1 wherein said clamping means comprise a pair of complementary with said sheet material and means for fixedly securing said assembled half-shells in said clamping engagement.

2,479,278 2,514,634 Galbreath July 11, 1950 2,739,462 Wincenciak Mar. 27, 1956

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