US3038679A

US3038679A - Spindle with automatic locking means

Info

Publication number: US3038679A
Application number: US101857A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph T Pospiszel
Original assignee: Mohasco Industries Inc
Current assignee: Mohasco Industries Inc
Priority date: 1961-04-10
Filing date: 1961-04-10
Publication date: 1962-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 1979-06-12

Description

'June 12, 1962 T PQSPISZEL 3,038,679

' SPINDLE WITH AUTOMATIC LOCKING MEANS Filed April 10, 1961 INVEN United States Patent 3,038,679 SPINDLE WITH AUTOMATIC LOCKING MEANS Joseph T. Pospiszel, North Broadalbin, N.Y., assiguor to Mohasco Industries, Inc., Amsterdam, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 101,857 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-68.2)

This invention relates to rotary spindles employed in winding and like machines for supporting a core during the winding of yarn thereon to form a package. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a rotary spindle which is provided with novel locking means op erating automatically to prevent rotational slippage of the core on the spindle during the winding operation, regardless of the direction of rotation of the core.

In the winding of yarn upon a core to form a package, slippage of the core relative to the spindle causes variations in the twist of the yarn and such variations result in imperfections in the fabric, in which the yarn is used. In the case of yarns used for the pile of carpets and rugs, variations in the twist of the yarns frequently produce objectionable streaks in the pile suflicient to cause the goods to be down-graded. In order to prevent the slippage of a core on the spindle, it is customary to provide the spindle with projecting longitudinal ribs near its inner end and to form its outer end with a threaded longitudinal bore and a diametrical slot extending inward from the end. After a core is mounted on such a spindle, a screw with a conical head is threaded into the bore so that the head of the screw will expand the split end of the spindle into tight contact with the core. While such a spindle will hold a core against slippage if the screw is tightened sufiiciently, it is necessary to remove the screw when a full package of yarn is to be dofied and the screw must be replaced after an empty core has been placed on the spindle. The operations described slow up the dotting operation and slippage of the core on the spindle sometimes occurs because the screw was not tightened sulficiently.

The present invention is, accordingly, directed to the provision of a spindle for use in winding and like machines, which is provided with novel locking means operating automatically upon rotation of the spindle in either direction to grip a core thereon and hold the core against slippage. The locking means is actuated by initial slippage of the core and its locking effect increases with an increase in spindle speed. In addition, it is quickly made ineffective upon stoppage of the spindle and does not interfere with the doffing of a full yarn package or the donning of a new core. These operations thus consume little time and the use of the new spindle not only improves the quality of the Wound yarn by the eliminatiom of twist variations but also increases the machine output by reducing the time required for dofiing and donning.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a conventional winding machine equipped with the new spindle;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section, of the locking mechanism of the spindle;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a spindle with the new locking means in inoperative position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional View of a spindle with the new locking means and a core in place on the spindle, the locking means being shown in effective position during clockwise rotation of the spindle;

FIG. 5 is a View similar to FIG. 4 with the locking means shown in effective position during counterclockwise rotation of the spindle; and

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FIG. 6 is an end view of one of the bearing blocks.

The winding machine shown in FIG. 1 is of conventional construction and it includes a main shaft mounted in bearings within a housing 10 and having a driving pulley 11 mounted on a part of the shaft projecting out of the housing. The pulley is driven through a belt 12 by a motor not shown. A spindle 13 is attached to the other end of the shaft to be driven thereby and, in the operation of the machine, a core 14 of paperboard or other similar material is slipped over the spindle to have yarn wound thereon. The yarn is distributed along the core to form the package by a traverse guide 15 of conventional construction and mode of operation.

The spindle of the invention comprises a steel rod 16 of cylindrical form, which is provided with a longitudinal recess 17 extending inward from its peripheral surface. The recess has a flat bottom surface 18 and parallel side walls 19 extending outwardly therefrom. Inward from the ends of the recess, the outer edges of the side walls are cut away to form outwardly divergent walls 20.

A bearing block 21 is mounted within the recess at each end thereof between the parallel Walls 19 and rests upon a non-metallic gasket 22. Each block has an opening 23 at one end for receiving the pivot of a locking member and the block is held in place by a screw 24, which passes through an opening 25 through the block and is threaded into a bore 26 leading from the bottom of the recess. The blocks are installed with their bearing openings opposed.

A locking member 27 is mounted in the recess between the bearing blocks and the member has pivots 28 at its opposite ends which are receivable in the openings 23 in the blocks. The locking member has a flat top 29 and outwardly divergent sides 30, the lower edges of which are connected by a curved surface 31 concentric with the pivots 28. Along its sides, the top is cut away to form outwardly convergent surfaces 32, which meet the sides 30 in longitudinal edges 33.

The locking member 27 is so formed that, when the spindle is at rest with the side walls 19 of the recess 17 lying vertical and the locking member centered in the recess, the longitudinal edges 33 of the member project equally beyond the outline of the rod 16. The pivots 28 lie closer to the flat top surface 29 of the member than to the curved bottom surface 31 and the preponderance of the mass of the member lies inward from a plane, which contains the axis of rotation of the member, that is, the common axis of its pivots, and lies inward from and parallel to the plane containing the longitudinal edges 33 of the member.

In the use of the new spindle, a core can be easily I telescoped over the spindle, since the longitudinal edges 33 of the locking member do not project sufficiently beyond the outline of the rod 16 to interfere with the telescoping action. The edges indent the inner surface of the core slightly and, as a result, any slippage of the core causes the locking member to be rocked on its pivots so as to increase the projection of one of the edges. Thus, when the spindle is rotating clockwise, a slight slippage of the core will cause the locking member to move counterclockwise on the axis of its pivots and the longitudinal edge 33 of the member, which is at the right side of the member as seen in FIG. 4 will be forced more deeply into the inner surface of the core and prevent its slipping further. Also, as soon as the locking member is off center, centrifugal force tends to continue its movement and thus increase the locking action. When the spindle is rotated counterclockwise, slippage of the core on the spindle as shown in FIG. 5 causes the locking member to move clockwise so that its left hand edge 33 is projected farther beyond the outline of the rod 16 and becomes more deeply imbedded in the inner surface of the core. Again, centrifugal force assists in the locking action.

After the winding operation is completed, the full package of yarn can be easily removed from the spindle and, for this purpose, the package is given a slight angular movement on the spindle in the direction on which the spindle was rotated during the formation of the package. Such movement of the package causes the locking member to become centered in the recess and, in that position of the member, its longitudinal edges 33 engage the inner surface of the core with so light a pressure that no difiiculty is encountered in slipping the package and core olf the spindle. The mounting of a new core on the spindle can be performed without difiiculty, since the engagement of the core with the edges of the locking member tend to cause the member to center itself in the recess, so that its edges in contact with the core offer little resistance to the telescoping of the core of the spindle.

The dofling and donning of the spindle may thus be carried on quickly and with no difficulty, whereas, with the conventional spindle construction, the removal of the expander screw from the split end of the spindle consumes an appreciable amount of time as does the threading of the screw into the spindle after a new core has been placed in position. Also, With the spindle of the application, the locking of the core is automatic and the locking member increases in effectiveness with an increase in spindle speed, which tends to produce greater package slippage. With the prior spindle, the package is held in place only by the expansion of the split end of the spindle and, if the expander screw is not threaded fully into place, the expansion of the end of the spindle is ineffective to prevent slippage.

I claim:

1. A rotary spindle for supporting a tubular core while a yarn package is being wound thereon, which comprises a rod having a longitudinal recess extending inward from its peripheral surface and a locking member pivotally supported Within the recess at the ends thereof for rotation on an axis parallel to the axis of the rod and outwardly offset from the axis of the rod, the member having longitudinal edges at opposite sides of its upper end, which project outwardly beyond the circumferential outline of the rod, said member being swingable about its pivots during the rotation of the spindle in either direction to increase the projection of one of its edges beyond the circumferential outline of the rod, to thereby grip a core placed over the rod when the spindle is rotated in either direction.

2. The spindle of claim 1, including bearing blocks having openings in their opposed faces removably mounted within the recess at its ends and in which the locking member has pivot pins at its ends entering the openings.

3. The spindle of claim 1, in which the preponderance of the mass of the member lies between two parallel planes, one of which passes through the axis of rotation of the member, the other of which is tangent to the rod at the point diametrically opposite the axis of rotation of the member, respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,400,585 Wolff May 21, 1946 2,416,785 Welch Mar. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 139,15-1 Sweden Feb. 17, 1953