US3226794A

US3226794A - Device for forming and depositing continuous rings of threads about a center for the purpose of forming a package of thread material

Info

Publication number: US3226794A
Application number: US270617A
Authority: US
Inventors: Erb Ernst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-04-11
Filing date: 1963-04-04
Publication date: 1966-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-04
Also published as: GB982468A; BE630466A; DE1535137A1; FR1374350A

Description

E. ERB

Jan. 4, 1966 3,226, 794 GS 0F THREADS RMING A PACKAGE DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RIN ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF F0 OF THREAD MATERIAL Filed April 4, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet l 4 .7 lo l2 l3 l4 l7 I19 /.7 2o 2/ 3,226,794 SITING CONTINUOUS RINGS OF THREADS CKAGE Jan. 4, 1966 ERB DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPO ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PA 0F THREAD MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1963 Jan. 4, 1966 E. ERB 3,226,794

DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RINGS OF THREADS ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 4, 1963 Jan. 4, 1966 E. ERB 3,226,794

DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CONTINUOUS RINGS 0F THREADS ABOUT A CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIAL Filed'April 4, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DEPOSITING CON- TINUOUS RINGS 0F THREADS ABOUT A CEN- TER FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING A PACK- AGE OF THREAD MATERIAL Ernst Erb, Realpstrasse 20, Basel, Switzerland Filed Apr. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 270,617 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 11, 1962, 4,448/ 62 18 Claims. (Cl. 28-21) When wound on reels the material looses resiliency and volume.

Various efforts have been made with rotary presser (11365 Where the thread is passed through a radialslot .and, by pressure on the base, is deposited by friction,

as aimed atin the U.S. Patents 1,201,045and 1,433,723. It has also been attempted to place a thread in spirals about a centre as it is done in the cans for sliver according to the German Patents Nos. 95,841, 401,522 and 592,045 as well as in the British Patent No. 203,373. However, all these attempts with threads were unsuccessful. The principle of the cans is based on the condition that the sliver to be deposited has a higher degree of adhesion or sticking capacity than the frictional resistance generated by the underside on the rotating disc depositing the rings. When this condition is fulfilled, the sliver remains adhering on the same spot on the base Where it makes contact with the base when coming through the guide of the ring depositing disc. This condition is very easily fulfilled with a soft fluffy sliver, and accordingly these cans have been readily accepted in practice and have proved their worth. With a smooth and hard thread, however, this condition is no longer fulfilled.

The base, i.e. the preceding layers, have unevenness in the form of channels and loose spots where the emerging 1 thread is no longer always pressed sufiiciently on the base by the winding disc. This is for example the case when at one or both sides of the emerging thread in the preceding layers thread crossings exist which then causes an interruption of the pressing-on and accordingly also of the pulling-along of the supplied thread. For this reason all attempts have failed to deposit with such devices smooth threads in rings in order to form a staple round a centre in the form of an endless spiral.

Likewise pressing the bottom or of the package previously' formed on the ring depositing head by spring bias or by a counterpoise as usual in the known cans (for example according to the U.S. Patents Nos. 2,478,960 and 2,598,738) is not applicable to large packages of thread material, since the increasing proper weight of the staple gradually reduces the action of the counterpoise or of the spring as the weight of the package increases, and may even abolish this action altogether. On the other hand the pressure force of the base at the beginning may not exceed a certain predetermined magnitude; otherwise the friction particularly of a fast rotating ring depositing head, becometo'o large, so that the thread material would show spotsof rubbing; The usual cans with spring bottom have moreover the disadvantage that the packed material tends to move upward lowest possible coeflicient of friction.

Patented Jan. 4, 1966 and often spills over, which causes damage and loss of time.

With these and other objects in view I provide a device for the depositing of thread rings around a centre in endless overlap for the formation of package of thread material, comprising in combination: a ring depositing head having a presser plate, a ring depositing plate, a yoke carrying said ring depositing head, fixed columns, guide ledges mounted on said columns and freely guiding said thread depositing head in the vertical direction, and a base in operation rotating relative to said thread depositing head arranged underneath the latter, the weight of said thread depositing head forcing the deposited thread against said relative plate rotating base.

Thus the weight of said ring depositing head, which always remains the same, exerts the pressure force on the base. The diameter of the package can be chosen so large that the package stands up by itself so that no cans are needed any more; the axially stationary but rotary receiving plate is provided with grooves so that the package can be easily lifted olf by means of special lifting-off forks and can be supplied to a packing point where they receive an enveloping sheath.

For smooth threads the new method of laying rings provides a, special contact elements which resiliently forces the thread against the base shortly after its emergence from the ring laying disc. This element may be a spring biased roller or a smooth appropriately bent leaf spring. The principle of this new contact element is to provide a safe contact of the emerging thread with the base and to maintain said contact all round the surface, even if the base is not quite plane, so that the supplied thread is pulled along continuously and uninterruptedly, and is deposited around in a circle. The principle of the aforesaid device-hereinafter referred to as the contact elementmay be readily explained by the following comparison:

When one wishes to deposit a rope or cable in a circle, the reel thereof may be journalled rotatably on an axle, which is carried along by the person laying the rope or cable and walking along in appropriate circles. As long as this person himself treads on the cable, the latter will roll off the reel and keep lying Where it has been pressed into the soil by the feet of the person treading on it, so as to form a circle on the soil. "If, however, the cable is not continuously loaded it has not a sufficient contact with the soil and. is no longer pulled along; that means it will take the shortest path and no longer form a circle when it is not continuously pressed on the soil by the person walking in circles. This is the principle of the use of a contact element on the ring depositing disc for the compulsory formation of rings by a thread of any kind Whatever.

A likewise important consideration for favouring the formation of rings is, that the presser plate as well as the ring depositing disc are made of a material of the If desired their frictional surface only may be coated with such a material. For example Teflon, Perspex (registered trademarks) etc. may be used.

1 A further important condition is that the thread, after being supplied, is conducted to the ring depositing disc Without being hampered; for this purpose provision is made that the thread is guided throughout the hollow axle in a guide tube of a material having the lowest possible coefiicient of friction such as Teflon (registered trade mark) etc. and is then guided in a slightly swept curve to the exit, where it is guided under an acute angle of less than20 towards the ring laying discs directly under the contact element.

These and other features of my said invention will be clearly understood from the following description of two preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a thread ring depositing device,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device according to FIG- URE '1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a ring depositing disc having a spring-biased roller and a contact element,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ring depositing disc according to FIGURE 3,

FIG. 5 is a contact element in the form of a curved leaf spring,

FIG. 6 is a device with a rotary yarn running-off support,

FIG. 7 illustrates a package, in which the laying of rings has been carried out beyond the centre.

Referring now to the drawings, a new improved feature of the device according to the invention consists in that the whole ring depositing head is guided vertically slidable in a yoke 12 with guide ledge 13 between columns 14- so that by its constant proper weight it exerts a constant pressure from above on the receiving disc 16. The receiving disc 16 arranged under the said head is journalled by means of a pivot pin 17 in a bearing bushing 18 of the chassis 15, and is driven by a worm 20 and worm wheel toothing 19. In order that the first rings of threads adhere well to the plate, a soft base support of foam material 22 is provided, which has likewise a low coefficient of friction. In the receiving disc 16 four grooves 23 are arranged in a square pattern, these grooves extending across the plate 16 and serving for the insertion of special forks for lifting off the staple together with the plate 22 of foam material.

The ring depositing head comprises a ring depositing disc 1, which turns in a recess of the presser plate 2 (FIGURES l4). The ring laying disc 1 is journalled with its hollow shaft 3 in the frame 12 and is driven by means of a motor 11 through a cord 9 over cord pulleys and 4. The thread 5 is passed through the hollow shaft 3 in a tube 6 of Teflon (registered trademark) etc. ahead of the contact element 7 under an acute angle of less than downward through the ring laying disc 1. When the disc 1 rotates in the sense of the arrow, the roller 7 of the contact element runs on the thread 5 and thus deposits the same on its circular track.

The passage of the thread through the ring laying disc is accordingly effected under an angle smaller than 20 and the Teflon (registered trademark) tube 6 is provided over half the profile up to the end of the exit in order that a minimum friction may result for the thread.

For soft fibrous wool or mixture yarns suflicient contact with the base is safeguarded when the passage of the thread and the outlet of the thread as well as the whole underside of the thread laying disc are made so smooth, or with so low a friction that the adhesion on the base exceeds the frictional resistance of the ring laying disc.

At each revolution of the disc 1 a thread ring is deposited. In order that at a high rotational speed of the disc 1 the thread rings quickly succeding one another may overlap tile-shape, the receiving plate 16 rotates at a desired ratio, which determines the distance of the thread rings 5a from one another (FIGURE 2). The first rings are formed directly on the foam material layer 22,

since at the beginning the wool head rests with the presser plate on this layer. In order that the receiving plate should not be braked too much in spite of the large contact area, provision this foam material layer is likewise made of substances having a minimum coeflicient of friction. Owing to its porosity, the thread rings formed thereon adhere nevertheless so well that they cannot be disturbed by the presser plate coated with Teflon. As will be seen from FIGURE 2, the ring laying plate 1, is arranged eccentrically relative to the centre of the receiving plate. In this manner at each revolution of the receiving plate 16 a layer of overlapping thread rings is built up around the centre thereof, which process is continuously repeated until the desired weight of the staple is attained. The axle 3 of the ring laying disc is slightly inclined in the direction of run of the receiving plate in order that the disc may be higher at A and lower at B than the presser plate 2. In this manner the thread rings can pass it without adhering and without being disturbed.

With a package diameter of 50 cm. and a height of 60 em. and with a medium grade wool of weight of 10 kilograms is attained. Since the depositing of the thread rings is carried out by this method practically geometrically correct, an undisturbed run-off of the thread for further treatment is assured.

The machines for further treatment, for example ball winding machines, may accordingly operate with less breakdowns and standstills and more economical than hitherto.

FIG. 7 shows a different pattern of ring deposits. Here the diameter of the ring laying disc 1 is made so large that its periphery covers the whole area of the coil, and no presser plate 2 is needed. In the laying pattern according to FIG. 2, provision is made that the ring laying disc (FIGURE 2), together with the presser plates 2, may be radially adjusted in the course of operation in its frame 12, in order that the thread rings may be deposited in the package with a radial offset in order that they may bear less strongly at their periphery.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a contact element in the form of a leaf spring. This leaf spring 26 is screwed on the hose introducing bracket 25, and shortly behind the outlet of the thread it projects resiliently downward from the ring depositing disc 1 and thus forces the thread on the base when the disc rotates in the direction of the arrow, the deposited thread then describing the same circle about the axis of the ring depositing disc as the thread outlet. It has been proved by tests that this leaf spring contact element, when having a well polished sliding surface, serves very well for contacting fine and minimum gauge threads. For smooth yarns such as Orlon, nylon, Terylene, etc. successful tests have been made by coating the contact spring with a material likewise of the lowest possible coefficient :of friction such as Teflon. Provision is also made that the thread guide tube 6 may consist of Teflon in order to reduce the friction of the thread to a minimum.

For course and hard threads such as cords however, the roller 7 is preferable as a contact element. For such yarns provision is made also to drive the roller 7 at a corresponding circumferential velocity so that it co-operates with the base as a discharging mechanism by rolling off the yarn practically without friction directly on the base.

If desired several such contact elements may be arranged in series on a circle.

In the diagrammatically illustrated device according to FIGURES 1 and 2 no discharging mechanism is shown. The latter may be arranged in different ways, for example directly with the roller 7.

A conveying aid for the thread could be provided by the injection of air. The air required could be supplied by an air catcher built on top of the ring laying disc 1.

FIG. 6 moreover shows a device in which a yarn support 39 with a source of yarn 31 is rotatably mounted above the machine frame and is driven from a common shaft 35 in the same sense and at the rotational speed as the receiving plate 16.

Thereby it is made possible that at the same time several threads are supplied at the same time to the ring laying plate and deposited without any twist relative to one another. Alternatively the receiving plates 16 and yarn support 30 may stand still while the presser plate 2 with the ring laying disc 1 and the supply mechanism are rotated instead. By means of this latter drive combination it may be attained likewise that no twistingof several While I have described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings what may be considered typical and particularly useful embodiments of my said invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular details and dimensions described and illustrated; for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is: f 1. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endless overlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, in combination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantially vertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation about its axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced from said base plate and being formed with a cutout therethrough arranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a rotary thread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout turnably about an axis laterally spaced from the axis of said base plate, said presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc being mounted on said support means for movement toward and away from said base plate; means operatively connected to said disc for rotating the same about its axis; and a thread guide fixedly mounted on said disc and having a discharge end adjacent the outer periphery thereof extending through said disc for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces and thread portion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and said ring depositing disc consist of a material having the lowest possible frictional co-eflicient.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said presser plate and said ring depositing disc are coated on their underside with a material of the lowest possible co-efiicient of friction.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ring depositing disc have an underside consisting of a synthetic substance of lowest possible co-eflicient of friction.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ring depositing disc have an underside of anodized highly polished aluminium.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said presser plate and ring depositing disc have an underside consisting of polytetrafiuoroethylene.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of said ring depositing disc is slightly inclined relative to the vertical in the direction of relative rotation of the said base so as to facilitate in operation the passage of the thread rings deposited.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a yarn support in operation rotating in the same sense and at the same rotational speed as the said rotating base.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a roller journalled on said disc and resiliently bearing on the thread deposited on said relatively rotating base.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a roller journalled on said disc and driven at a circumferential speed corresponding to that of the said relatively rotating base.

11. A device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a spring loaded contact element disc and forcing said thread against said relatively rotating base.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said contact element is a curved leaf spring.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the underside of said curved leaf spring has with a coating of low frictional co-eflicient.

14. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endless overlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, in combination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantially Vertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation about its axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced from said base plate and being form-ed with a cutout therethrough arranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a rotary thread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaft coaxially fixed to said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having an axis located laterally from the axis of said base plate means operatively connected to said hollow shaft for turning the latter about its axis; and a thread guide extending partly through said hollow shaft and having a discharge end adjacent the outer periphery of said disc and extending through said disc for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end .of said thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

15. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endless overlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, in combination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantially vertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation about its axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced from said base plate and being formed with a circular cutout therethrough arranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotary thread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaft coaxially fixed to said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having an axis located laterally from the axis of said base plate; means operatively connected to said hollow shaft for turning the latter about its axis; and a tubular thread guide having an upper portion extending through said hollow shaft and a lower curved portion extending along the upper surface of said disc and ending in a discharge end portion extending through said disc substantially tangential to and adjacent the outer periphery thereof for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

16. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endless overlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, in combination, support means; a rotary base plate having a substantially vertical axis and being mounted on said support means for rotation about its axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter about its axis; a presser plate upwardly spaced from said base plate and being formed with a circular cutout therethrough arranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotary thread ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout; a hollow shaft coaxially fixed to said disc upwardly extending therefrom and having an axis located laterally from the axis of said base plate; means operatively connected to said hollow shaft for turning the latter about its axis; and a tubular thread guide having an upper portion extending through said hollow shaft and a lower curved portion extending along the upper surface of said disc and ending in a discharge end portion extending through said disc substantially tangential to and adjacent the outer periphery thereof inclined at an angle of less than 20 to the upper surface of said disc for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of said presser plate and said thread ring depositing disc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

17. A device as set forth in claim 16, wherein said tubular thread guide is made from a material having a low coefficient of friction.

18. A device for depositing thread rings around a center in an endless overlap for the formation of a package of thread material comprising, in combination, a substantially horizontally extending stationary support; a rotary base plate having a substantially vertical axis and being mounted on said support for rotation about its axis; drive means operatively connected to said base plate for rotating the latter about its axis; a pair of uprights projecting spaced from each other upwardly from said support; a yoke guided at opposite ends of said uprights for movement toward and away from said base plate; a circular presser plate coaxial with said base plate and being fixedly mounted on said yoke for movement therewith toward and away from said base plate, said presser plate being formed with a circular cutout therethrough arranged laterally from the axis of said base plate; a circular rotary ring depositing disc arranged in said cutout turnably about an axis laterally spaced from the axis of said base plate; means on said yoke for supporting said disc turnably about its axis; means mounted on said yoke and operatively connected to said disc for rotating the latter about its axis; and a thread guide fixedly mounted on said disc and hav- 8 ing a discharge'end adjacent the outer periphery thereof and extending through said disc at an angle of less than 20 inclined to the upper surface thereof for guiding a thread toward said base plate so that the weight of said presser plate and said ring depositing disc forces the thread portion discharged through said discharge end of said thread guide toward the upper surface of said base plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 795,980

8/1905 Hubbard 57-66 1,232,685 7/1917 Hubbard 5766 2,745,146 5/1956 Wilkie 19-159 2,895,210 7/1959 Hubbard 2872 2,936,509 5/1960 Martin 28-21 2,997,249 8/1961 Meinshausen l9159 3,081,511 3/1963 Suggs et al. 28-21 FOREIGN PATENTS 658,121 2/ 1963 Canada.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A DEVICE FOR DEPOSITING THREAD RINGS AROUND A CENTER IN AN ENDLESS OVERLAP FOR THE FORMATION OF A PACKAGE OF THREAD MATERIAL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, SUPPORT MEANS; A ROTARY BASE PLATE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS AND BEING MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT ITS AXIS; DRIVES MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID BASE PLATE FOR ROTATING THE LATTER ABOUT ITS AXIS; A PRESSER PLATE UPWARDLY SPACED FROM SAID BASE PLATE AND BEING FORMED WITH A CUTOUT THERETHROUGH ARRANGED LATERALLY FROM THE AXIS OF SAID BASE PLATE; A ROTARY THREAD RING DEPOSITING DISC ARRANGED IN SAID CUTOUT TURNABLY ABOUT AN AXIS LATERALLY SPACED FROM THE AXIS OF SAID BASE PLATE, SAID PRESSURE PLATE AND SAID THREAD RING DEPOSITING DISC BEING MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID BASE PLATE; MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DISC FOR ROTATING THE SAME ABOUT ITS AXIS; AND A THREAD GUIDE FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON SAID DISC AND HAVING A DISCHARGE END ADJACENT THE OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF EXTENDING THROUGH SAID DISC FOR GUIDING A THREAD TOWARD SAID BASE PLATE SO THAT THE WEIGHT OF SAID PRESSURE PLATE AND SAID THREAD RING DEPOSITING DISC FORCES AND THREAD PORTION DISCHARGED THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE END OF SAID THREAD GUIDE TOWARD THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BASE PLATE.