US3228617A

US3228617A - Yarn winding machine

Info

Publication number: US3228617A
Application number: US200501A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ingham S Roberts
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-06-06
Filing date: 1962-06-06
Publication date: 1966-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-11
Also published as: FR1365544A

Description

Jan. 11, 1966 l. s. ROBERTS 3,223,617

YARN WINDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1962 HHIH INVENTORZ BY INGHAM s. ROBERTS ATTYS.

I. S. ROBERTS YARN WINDING MACHINE Jan. 11, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1962 FIG4.

FIG5.

INVENTOR:

INGHAM S. ROBERTS ATTYS.

A m w W MM "4 M/ A 5 w d 4 1, WOW 7. Q m

1966 1. s. ROBERTS YARN WINDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed June 6, 1962 FIGQ.

FIGS

FIG! I..

FIGIO.

INVENTOR INGHAM S. ROBERTS ATTVS.

United States Patent 3,228,617 YARN WINDING MACHINE Ingham S. Roberts, 412 Harrison St., Ridley Park, Pa. Filed June 6, 1962, Ser. No. 200,501 8 Claims. (Cl. 242-45) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in yarn winding machines. More particularly the present invention relates to a yarn winding machine having a speed changing mechanism for selectively controlling the take up of the yarn during package formation.

The present invention is an improvement on the yarn winding machine shown in my prior Patent No. 2,509,250, entitled Tension Control for Winding Machines. In my prior yarn winding machine, the speed of an electric motor drive element is controlled by varying the voltage on the motor by changing the impedance of a coil in series with the motor. Even though this control arrangement is satisfactory for some applications, it has disadvantages when used with others. For example, the speed change ratio of preferred induction type motors is limited to about four to one so that if the maximum speed is 1600 r.p.m., the minimum operable speed is about 400 rpm. and this speed range is insufiicient when large packages must be wound on small tube or cone centers. Also, the control is not quickly responsive at slow speeds and the motor tends to overrun and hunt. Also, a complete system including motor and controller must be used with each yarn winding machine and the initial cost and maintenance costs of multiple installations are high.

The yarn winding machine of the present invention eliminates the foregoing disadvantages and draw-backs of my prior yarn winding machine. To this end, the present yarn winding machine embodies a constant speed drive means and a sensitve but simple and inexpensive speed changing mechanism.

Speed change ratios of up to ten to one are easily obtained whereby large packages may be wound on small tube or cone centers. Moreover the control is quickly responsive at all speeds and there is no tendency to overrun and hunt. Further the speed changing mechanism of each of a plurality of yarn winders is adapted to be actuated from a common source of power thereby resulting in a substantial saving in initial cost and lower maintenance costs.

Moreover, the present yarn winding machine operates to control accurately the rate of take up of the yarn during package formation and the control provided is substantially uniform for each package wound whereby the package characteristics of each of a series of packages wound on the machine or on a plurality of similar machines winding the same type of yarn are substantially identical.

With the foregoing in mind, an object of the present invention is to provide a speed changing mechanism for a yarn winding machine adapted to selectively control the rotary speed of the package so as to maintain its surface speed substantially equal to the supply speed of the yarn continously throughout formation of the package.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a speed changing mechanism for a yarn winding machine which operates to gradually reduce the tension in the yarn at a desired rate during package formation and wherein the momentary tension in the yarn may be maintained at a predetermined desired value.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a yarn winding machine having speed changing mechanism which in certain forms of the invention includes damping means operable to minimize any tendency 3,228,617 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 for the transmission mechanism to over correct or hunt thereby providing for closer control of the package characteristics during package formation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a yarn winding machine having speed changing mechanism operable to control accurately the rate of take up of the yarn onto the winding machine during package formation so that each of a series of packages wound on the machine or on a plurality of similarly adjusted machines will be substantially identical.

A still further object of the Present invention is to provide a yarn winding machine having speed changing mechanism wherein a series of winding machines may be actuated from a common power source and each mechanism functions independently to control winding of the yarn in its respective winding machine in a predetermined desired manner.

All of the objects of the invention and the various features and details of the construction and operation thereof are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a yarn winding machine embodying speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the yarn winding machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the details and arrangement of a first embodiment of speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3 with parts broken away so that the details of the speed changing mechanism may be seen, more clearly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of speed changing mechanism similar to that shown in FIG. 4 including damping means for minimizing the tendency of the mechanism to hunt;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a sec-0nd embodiment of speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a third embodiment of speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic arrangement of the discs and friction wheel of the mechanism shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a form of linkage for the yarn winding machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for use with the speed changing mechanism of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

Referring now to the drawing and with reference particularly to the yarn winding machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, yarn is delivered at a constant linear speed from a feed roll, prior process or other source, which is indicated by and hereinafter referred to as feed roll 10, to the yarn winding machine which includes yarn take up means for winding the yarn into a package.

As shown, the yarn passes around a dancer roll 11 carried by a pivotally mounted arm 12 and is laid on a package center 14 supported on a rotatable winding spindle 16 by an oscillating traverse guide 18 to form a package 19. The winding spindle 16 is driven in the direction indicated in FIG. 1 by a motor M which is controlled by the normally closed switch S.

In accordance with the present invention, a speed changing mechanism is provided which connects the constant speed motor M to the winding spindle 16 and operates to adjust the rotational speed of the winding spindle in a predetermined manner relative to the linear supply speed of the yarn to compensate for gradual increase in diameter of the package during formation of the package.

In accordance with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 inclusive, the speed changing mechanism includes driving and driven members, in the present instance,

discs

32 and 34 mounted on

shafts

36 and 38 respectively which are journalled in spaced apart relation in a housing 39. The

shafts

36 and 38 are connected by suitable transmission means, in the present instance, friction belts to the motor M and winding spindle 16 respectively. An element in the form of a friction wheel 40 is mounted between the driving and driven

discs

32 and 34 in simultaneous engagement with overlapping portions of the discs and adapted for movement relative to the discs to vary the speed of the driven disc 34 relative to the driving disc 32. The driving disc 32 is biased by means of a spring 41 toward the driven disc 34 to maintain the friction wheel 40 in engagement with the discs and the confronting faces of the discs and the peripheral surface of the friction wheel 40 are preferably made rotation of the friction wheel 40 remaining parallel to the plane AA.

The friction wheel 40 is mounted for movement relative to the discs by means of a U-shaped frame 46 which is pivotally mounted at the free outer ends of the leg portions 47 of the frame to the end walls of the housing 39, a bar 44 carried between the leg portions 47 and a tubular cylindrical carriage 42 which is mounted on the bar 44 for limited movement axially thereof and which supports along its length a depending bracket 49 rotatably supporting the friction wheel 40. In the present instance, the U-shaped frame 46 pivots in a direction perpendicular to the plane AA and is normally urged to pivot downwardly with respect to FIG. 4 when the discs are rotating in the direction indicated due to the direction of the thrust force-s of the driving and driven

discs

32 and 34 acting on the friction wheel 40. Pivotal movement of the U-shap'ed frame 46 is controlled by a linkage 43 operatively connecting the U-shaped frame 46 to a lever 50 carried by the dancer roll arm 12. The linkage ,43 includes a short follower arm 54 which mounts at one 'end a roller engaging the underside of the U-shaped frame 46 and is connected at its opposite end to a stub shaft 56 rotatably mounted in the side wall of the housing 39.

A transfer link 58 is secured at one end to the stub shaft 56 and is pivotally connected at its other end to a 9 vertical link 59 which in turn is pivotally connected at its lower end to the inner end of the lever 50. By this linkage arrangement, a comparatively large displacement of the dancer roll 11 acts through the linkage 43 to effect a small displacement of the U-shaped frame 46, which in turn results in a small displacement of the rotational axis of the friction wheel 40 relative to the plane AA.

In operation of the yarn winding machine, yarn delivered at a constant linear speed from the yarn supply roll is looped around the dancer roll 11 and fed to the traverse guide 18 for winding onto the package center 14 to form the package 19. In the present instance, operation of the winding machine is controlled by raising the dancer roll arm 12 from the inclined position shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 toward a horizontal position whereby the outer end of the lever 50 disengages the contact of the switch S to start the constant speed motor M. The motor M actuates the driving disc 32 which through the friction wheel 40 rotates the driven disc 34 which in turn actuates the winding spindle 16 and package center 14.

During the formation of the package 19 on the package center 14, the package gradually increases in diameter and since the yarn feed roll 10 supplies yarn at a constant linear speed, it is necessary that the rotary speed of the package 19 decrease gradually during formation of the package 19. The speed changing mechanism of the present invention affects this gradual decrease in the rotary speed of the package.

For example, if the package 19 rotates too fast and is taking up the yarn faster than it is being supplied, the yarn raises the dancer roll arm 12 which through the linkage 43 pivots the free end of the follower arm 54 downwardly permitting the frame 46 to pivot downwardly since as noted above, the forces acting on the friction wheel 40 normally tend to urge it in a downward direction. Accordingly the rotational axis of the friction wheel 4t] is displaced to a position below the plane AA whereby the friction wheel 40 tends to follow spiral paths on the driving and driven discs which effect movement of the friction wheel 40 and carriage 42 to the right whereby the speed of the driven disc 34 is decreased relative to the speed of the driving disc 32 and accordingly the rotary speed of the package 19 is decreased. Conversely, if the package 19 rotates to slowly and does not take up the yarn as fast as it is being supplied, the slack in the yarn permits the dancer roll arm 12 to drop, which through the linkage 43 pivots the free end of the follower arm 54 upwardly to raise the U-shaped frame 46 and thereby move the friction wheel 40 above the plane AA. In this position, the friction wheel 40 tends to follow spiral paths on the discs which move it to the left whereby the speed of the driven disc 34 is increased relative to the driving disc 32 and accordingly the rotary speed of the package 19 is increased. It is noted that when the rotational axis of the friction wheel 40 is positioned on either side of the plane AA and the friction wheel 40 moves generally radially relative to the discs, this radial movement is limited by abutment of the ends of the carriage 42 with the leg portions 47 of the U-shaped frame 46 to limit travel of the friction wheel 40 between the overlapping portions of the discs.

Further when the rotational axis of the friction wheel 40 lies in the plane AA, there is no tendency of the friction wheel 40 to move to the left or right and the relative speed of the discs remains constant. It is noted that when the rotational axis of the friction wheel 40 lies in the plane AA, the dancer roll arm 12 is disposed in approximately a horizontal position.

Accordingly it may be seen that the speed changing mechanism of the present invention adjusts the rotary speed of the package 19 throughout its formation to a value whose corresponding surface speed is approximately equal to the linear speed of the yarn being supplied by the supply means 10.

During formation of the package 19, it is desirable to provide a predetermined initial tension in the yarn which gradually decreases during the winding operation to prevent bulging of the package andprovide a more satisfactorily wound package. In the present instance, this is accomplished by providing a coil spring 61 which is connected to the frame of the winding machine at one end and to the lever 50 at its other end and which normally tends to rotate the dancer roll arm 12 in a counterclockwise direction with respect to FIG. 1 counter to the direction which the forces on the friction wheel 40 acting through the linkage 43 tend to rotate the dancer roll arm 12. The tension in the spring 61 is selectively adjustable so that the initial tension for winding may be varied selectively depending on the type of yarn being wound.

This arrangement provides for a gradual decrease in 'yarn tension during formation of the package 19 in the following manner. I

Since the diameter of the package 19 gradually increases, the friction wheel 40 moves gradually to the right toward the inner periphery of the driving disc 32 during formation of the package and the downward thrust of the

discs

32 and 34 on the friction wheel 40 being a function of torque increases as the friction wheel 40 moves to the right. Since this downward thrust on the friction wheel 49 which acts through the linkage 43 is counter to the force of the spring 61, the net reaction force at the dancer roll 11 which determines tension in the yarn is decreased. It is noted that the dancer roll arm 12 remains in an approximately horizontal position during package formation except for small displacements to vary package rotary speed as noted above whereby the reaction force of the spring 61 remains substantially constant. Accordingly there is a gradual decrease in tension in the yarn during package formation which is desirable to prevent bulging of the package. The rate of decrease in the yarn tension may be varied by changing the linkage 43 to increase or decrease the effect of the downward thrust force on the friction wheel 41 relative to the force of the spring 61. It is noted that at any instant during the winding operation as described above there is a balance between the forces which tend to raise and those which tend to lower friction wheel 40 and that the only force required to upset this balance and to effect a speed change is the small amount required to overcome the friction in the pivot points of the linkage system.

It is also noted that the force which changes the position of the dancer roll 11 and raises or lowers fn'ction wheel 40 to effect a speed change is a tension differential in the yarn and it is an important advantage of the described speed changing mechanism as applied to yarn Winding that only small tension differentials are required to secure speed compensation and that there is therefore no significant fluctuation in yarn tension.

There is shown in FIG. 5 a modified form of the speed changing mechanism described above including damping means adapted to minimize the tendency of the friction wheel 40 to over correct or hunt during formation of package. To this end there is provided a tubular cylindrical carriage '72 of an enlarged internal diameter greater than the diameter of the bar 44 and having axial end walls 74 providing a chamber C of a predetermined axial length. A piston 70 is mounted interiorly of the carriage 72 and is fixed to the bar 44 at approximately the mid point thereof. The piston '70 is shorter than the chamber C to permit axial movement of the carriage 72 and friction wheel relative to the piston 70 and bar 44. The chamber C may be filled with a compressible or a non-compressible fluid. In operation therefore as the carriage moves for example to the right with respect to FIG. 5, the fluid is metered through the annular clearance between the piston 70 and carriage from the right hand end of the chamber C to the left hand end thus serving as a buffer slowing down movement of the carriage. By this arrangement hunting of the friction wheel 40, for example due to slight movements of the dancer roll arm 12 resulting from oscillating movement of the traverse guide 18 are minimized.

It is noted that the range of longitudinal movement of the friction wheel 40 to the right or left is limited by abutment of the end face of the piston and the end walls of the carriage whereby the range of movement of the friction wheel 40 is confined to the overlapping portions of the discs. The amount of damping is determined by choice of clearance between the piston 17 and carriage and/or choice of a particular fluid.

Another embodiment of speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 which is adapted for use in a yarn winding machine of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to control the rate of take up of the yarn during package formation in a predetermined manner. The basic elements of the mechanism are identical to those of the speed changing mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and include driving and driven

discs

132 and 134 mounted on

shafts

136 and 138 respectively which are journa-lled in spaced apart relation between the side walls of a housing 139. A friction wheel 140 is mounted between the driving and driven discs for movement relative to the discs to vary the speed of the driven disc 132 relative to the driving disc 134.

The means mounting the friction wheel 140 includes a U-shaped frame 146 pivotally mounted between the end walls of the housing 139, a bar 144 supported between the leg portions 147 of the U-shaped frame 146 and a tubular cylindrical carriage 142 which is mounted on the bar 144 for limited movement axially thereof and which supports along its length a dependent bracket 149 rotatably supporting the friction wheel 140.

The axes of rotation of the

disc

132 and 134 are disposed -in a common plane BB and the axis of rotation of the friction wheel 140 is parallel to the plane BB. However, in accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the plane BB is inclined relative to bar 144 whereby during longitudinal movement of carriage 142 on bar 144 the rotational axis of friction wheel 140 is moved transverse to plane BB. Transverse motion of the rotational axis of friction wheel 140 relative to plane BB is also produced by rotational movement of the U-shaped frame 146 about its pivotal axis CC. The pivotal movement of the U-shaped frame 146 is controlled by a linkage similar in arrangement to the linkage 43. However, in the present instance a lever 131 of the type shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 having a depending leg 133 is employed in lieu of the lever 50. The vertical link 59 of the linkage 43 is connected to the inner end of the lever 131 and the lower end of the spring 61 is connected to the lower end of the leg 133. This arrangement provides for a desired decrease in tension in the yarn during package formation as discussed in detail hereinafter.

In the operation of a yarn winding machine incorporating the embodiment of speed changing mechanism of FIG. 6, the yarn delivered from the supply roll 10 is looped around the dancer roll 11 and fed to the traverse guide 18 which lays the yarn on the package center to form the package 19. Operation of the winder is started by raising the dancer roll arm 12 to close the switch S to start the motor M. It is noted that in the present instance the dancer roll arm assumes the position in broken lines in FIG. 10 below the horizontal position at the start of the winding operation and that in this position the friction wheel 140 is nearest its left-hand limit position with respect to FIG. 6. Thereafter during formation of the package, if the package rotates too fast and is taking up yarn faster than it is being supplied, the yarn raises the dancer roll arm 12 which through the linkage 43 pivots the free end of the follower link 54 downwardly permitting the U-shaped frame 46 to be displaced downwardly.

Accordingly, the rotational axis of the friction wheel 140 moves to a position below the plane BB whereby the friction wheel 140 tends to follow spiral paths on the discs which effect movement of the friction wheel 140 and carriage 142 to the right whereby the speed of the driven disc relative to the speed of the driving disc is decreased and accordingly the speed of the package is decreased. In the present instance the friction wh'eel 140 in moving to the right, intercepts the plane BB prior to maximum movement of the friction wheel to the right whereby there is no further movement of the friction wheel and the relative speed of the disc becomes constant. Conversely, if the rotational axis of the friction wheel 140 is moved above the plane BB, for example, when the package rotates too slowly and is not taking up yarn as fast as it is being supplied, the friction wheel 140 and carriage move to the left with respect to FIG. 6, until the rotational axis of the friction wheel 140 intercepts the plane BB. By this inclined arrangement of the plane B-B relative to bar 144, an inherent damping action is provided. It is noted that the carriage and friction wheel move rapidly in response to displacement of the rotational axis of the wheel with respect to the plane B-B but there is no over running or hunting when the desired relative speed of the discs is obtained. Preferably, in order to obtain optimum damping, transverse displacement of the friction wheel 140 relative to the plane BB is limited to a range wherein the rotational axis of the wheel 140 lies in the plane B-B when the carriage is at extreme limit positions.

In employing the speed changing mechanism described above in a yarn winding machine of the type shown for example in FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be seen that during formation of the package, the friction wheel 140' moves from left to right whereby as shown in FIG. 10, the dancer roll arm 12 moves from the broken line position below the solid, line horizontal position, to the broken line posit-ion above horizontal and whereby the lever 131 is rotated in a clockwise direction about its pivotal axis 137. Accordingly the spring 61 is extended by pivotal movement of the lever 131 whereby the tension in the spring increases from a predetermined value T at the start of the winding operation, to a final increased value of T' at the finish of the Winding operation. However the moment arm of the spring 61 relative to the pivotal axis 137 of the lever decrease from d to d during package formation and accordingly the moment of the spring tending to rotate the dancer roll arm'12 in a counterclockwise direction about the pivotal axis 137 of the lever tends to decrease during package formation. Moreover the decrease in the counterclockwise moment of the tension in spring 61 about the pivotal axis 137 due to shortening the moment arm during package formation is greater than the increase in this moment due to elongation of the spring during this period and the net result is that the tension applied to the yarn by the spring decreases during package formation.

Therefore the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 10 provides dual facilities for decreasing the yarn tension during package formation. The amount of this decrease can be determined by adjusting the linkage ratio which fixes the movement of friction wheel 141) relative to that of the dancer roll 11 as with the previous embodiment or by adjusting the configuration of lever 131 and/ or the characteristics of spring 61. 1

A further embodiment of speed changing mechanism in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 inclusive. The basic elements of the mechanism are identical to the form of the invention shown in FIG. 5 and include driving and driven

discs

232 and 234 mounted on

shafts

236 and 238 respectively which are journalled in spaced apart relation in a housing 239 and a frictional wheel 240 mounted between the discs in simultaneous engagement with overlapping portions of the discs and adapted for movement relative to the discs to vary the speed' of the driven disc 234 relative to the driving disc 232. The friction wheel 240 is supported in a bracket 249 which depends from a carriage 272 identical to the carriage 72 of FIG. 5, the carriage 272 being mounted for axial movement on a bar 244. A piston 270 is mounted on the bar 244 to provide damping means as discussed above in connection with the speed changing mechanism shown in FIG. 5. The axes of rotation of the driving and driven discs lie in a common plane DD and the rotational axis of the friction wheel is parallel to the plane D-D and adapted for movement in a direction both perpendicular and transverse to the plane D--D.

In the present instance, a link 260 is pivotally mounted at each opposite end wall of the housing 239 and the bar 244 is supported between the outer free ends of the links One of the links has a handle 261 for limited movement between stops in the form of pins 263 projecting from the end wall of the housing in the path of movement of the handle 261. Accordingly it may be seen that by this arrangement the friction wheel 240 may be moved relative to the plane DD by manipulation of the handle 261 to vary selectively the rotary speed of the driven disc 234 relative to the driving disc 23-2. If desired, the handle 26 1 may be connected to control mechanism which is responsive to pressure, temperature and other variables thereby to control the rotary speed of an output shaft relative to that of an input shaft. Link 260, handle 261 and stop pin-s 263 may be similarly applied to the speed changing mechanism of FIG. 6. This arrangement is particularly advantageous when a definite relationship is desired between the position of handle 261 and the position of friction wheel and its corresponding ratio of output to input speed of the speed changing mechanism.

FIG. 9 shows schematically the paths the friction wheel 240 tends to follow on the driving and driven discs when the rotational axis of the friction wheel is disposed at various positions relative to the common plane DD. When the

discs

232 and 234 are rotating in the direction indicated in FIG. 9, friction wheel 240 rolls downward relative to the contact sunface of driving disc 232 and upward relative to the contact sun-face of driven disc 234. If the rotational axis of friction wheel 240 lies in plane DD of axes of the discs, the periphery of the friction wheel 240 follows a circular path P on disc 232 and a circular path P on disc 234 and there is no force urging the friction wheel to move to the right or to the left along the plane DD. However, if the rotational axis of the friction wheel 240 is parallel to plane DD but positioned below it as shown in FIG. 9, the path of the periphery of friction wheel 240 is directed outward relative to the circular path P and inward relative to circular path P whereby the friction wheel 240 tends to follow spiral paths X on disc 232 and spiral path X on disc 234. In following these paths, friction wheel 240 moves from right to left until it reaches a limit position or until its rotational axis is raised to or above plane DD. If the rotational axis of the friction wheel 240 is positioned above plane D-D as shown in FIG. 7, the friction wheel 240 tends to follow spiral paths indicated whereby the friction wheel 240 moves to the right. In FIG. 4, the rotational direction of the driving disc 32 and of the driven disc 34 are reversed relative to FIG. 9 and positioning friction wheel 40 below plane AA causes the friction wheel to move to the right as mentioned previously.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention and changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a yarn winding machine, rotatable take up means for winding yarn into a package, yarn supply means for feeding yarn to said take up means at a substantially constant linear speed, constant speed drive means for said take up means, a speed changing mechanism operatively connecting said drive means to said take up means and adapted to adjust the rate of rotation of the yarn take up means relative to the rate of yarn supply to compensate for increase in the diameter of the package during package formation, said speed changing mechanism comprising driving and driven disc members mounted for rotation about axes disposed in a common plane, a friction wheel mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane and in simultaneous engagement with said disc members, means connecting said driving disc member to said drive means for rotation thereby, means connecting said driven'disc member to said take up means to actuate the same, mounting means mounting said friction wheel for movement on opposite sides of said common plane whereby said friction wheel tends to move in one direction generally radially relative to the disc members when the rotational axis of the friction wheel is disposed on one side of said common plane thereby to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member and whereby said friction wheel tends to move generally radially relative to the disc members in a direction opposite said one direction when the rotational axis of the friction wheel is disposed on the side of said common plane opposite said one side thereby to decrease the speed of rotation of said driven disc member relative to said driving disc member, and means operable to actuate said mounting means to displace the rotational axis of said friction wheel to said one side of said common plane when yarn is taken up slower than it is being fed and operable to actuate said mounting means to displace the rotational axis of said friction wheel to the side of said common plane opposite said one side when yarn is taken up faster than it is being fed and damping means operable to minimize the tendency of said friction wheel to hunt during formation of the package.

2. Speed changing mechanism comprising a rotatable driving disc member, a driven disc member mounted for rotation about an axis disposed in a common plane with the axis of rotation of said driving disc member, an element interengaged between said driving and driven disc members and movable relative thereto to vary the speed of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member, said element when disposed on one side of said common plane tending to move in one radial direction relative to said disc members thereby to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member and said element when disposed on the opposite side of said common plane tending to move in a generally radial direction opposite said one direction thereby to decrease the speed of rotation of said driven disc member relative to said driving disc member and means mounting said element for movement in a direction transverse to said common plane and at an angle to said common plane to selectively vary the relative speed of rotation of said driving and driven disc members whereby said element is adapted to intercept said common plane between the axes of rotation of said driving and driven disc members when said element is disposed on either side of said common plane.

3. A speed changing mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said element comprises a friction wheel mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane.

4. Speed changing mechanism comprising a housing, driving and driven disc members mounted for rotation in said housing about axes disposed in a common plane, a friction wheel mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane and engaging overlapping portions of said driving and driven disc members and movable relative thereto to vary the speed of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member, said friction wheel when disposed on one side of said common plane tending to move in one radial direction relative to said disc members thereby to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member and said friction wheel when disposed on the opposite side of said common plane tending to move in a generally radial direction opposite said one direction thereby to decrease the speed of rotation of said driven disc member relative to said driving disc member and a supporting frame mounted in said housing supporting said friction wheel for movement in a direction transverse to said common plane and at an angle to said common plane to selectively vary the relative speed of rotation of said driving and driven disc members whereby said friction wheel is adapted to intercept said common plane between the axes of rotation of said driving and driven disc members when said element is disposed on either side of said com-mon plane.

5. Speed changing mechanism comprising driving and driven disc members mounted for rotation about axes disposed in a common plane and having parallel confronting surfaces, a shaft member parallel to the confronting surfaces of said disc members and disposed in non-parallel relationship to said common plane, a friction wheel interengaged between the confronting surfaces of said disc members and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane, means mounting said friction wheel for longitudinal movement relative to said shaft member, means mounting said shaft member for movement relative to said disc members operable to displace the rotational axis of said friction wheel in a direction transverse to said common plane, said friction wheel tending to move in one direction longitudinally of the shaft member and at an angle to said common plane to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when the rotational axis of said friction wheel is disposed on one side of said common plane and said friction wheel tending to move in a longitudinal direction relative to said shaft member opposite said one direction and at an angle to said common plane to decrease the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when said friction wheel is disposed on the side of said common plane opposite said one side.

6. Speed changing mechanism comprising driving and driven disc members mounted for rotation about axes disposed in a common plane and having parallel confronting surfaces, a shaft member parallel to the confronting surfaces of said disc members and disposed in non-parallel relationship to said common plane, biasing means urging the confronting surfaces of said disc members toward one another, a friction wheel interengaged between the confronting surfaces of said disc members and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane, means mounting said friction wheel for longitudinal movement relative to said shaft member, means mounting said shaft member for movement relative to said disc members operable to displace the rotational axis of said friction wheel in a direction transverse to said common plane, said friction wheel tending to move in one direction longitudinally of the shaft member and at an angle to said common plane to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when the rotational axis of said friction wheel is disposed on one side of said common plane and said friction Wheel tending to move in a longitudinal direction relative to said shaft member opposite said one direction and at an angle to said common plane to decrease the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when said friction wheel is disposed on the side of said common plane opposite said one side.

7. In a yarn winding machine, rotatable take up means for winding yarn into a package, means to feed yarn at a constant speed to said take up means, constant speed drive means for said take up means, speed changing mechanism between said constant speed drive means and said take up means comprising driving and driven disc members mounted for rotation about axes disposed in a common plane and having parallel confronting surfaces, a shaft member parallel to the confronting surfaces of said disc members and disposed in non-parallel relationship to said common plane, a friction wheel interengaged between said disc members and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said common plane, means mounting said friction wheel for longitudinal movement relative to said shaft member, means mounting said shaft member for movement relative to said disc members operable to displace the rotational axis of said friction wheel in a direction transverse to said common plane, said friction wheel tending to move in one direction longitudinally of the shaft member and at an angle to said common plane to increase the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when the rotational axis of said friction wheel is disposed on one side of said common ,plane and said friction wheel tending to move in a longitudinal direction opposite said one direction relative to said shaft member and at an angle to said common plane to decrease the speed of rotation of the driven disc member relative to the driving disc member when said friction wheel is disposed on the side of said common plane opposite said one side.

8. In a yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 7 including a dancer roll arm pivotally mounted at a point along its length having a dancer roll at one end thereof and 21 depending leg at the opposite end thereof, said yarn being feed from said feed means around said dancer roll to said pickup means, biasing means connected adjacent the outer end of said depending leg for normally pivoting said dancer roll arm in one direction and operable to provide a predetermined initials tension in said yarn, and means including a linkage connecting said means mounting said friction wheel and said dancer roll arm whereby pivotal movement of said dancer roll arm from a predetermined position in said one direction actuates said friction wheel in a direction transverse to said common plane whereby said friction wheel moves gradually toward the axis of rotation of said driving disc member during formation of the package and said dancer roll arm pivots through a predetermined arc in a direction opposite said one direction whereby the moment of said spring effecting tension in the yarn gradually decreases thus effecting a gradual decrease in tension in the yarn during package formation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,509,250 5/1950 Roberts 24245 2,608,355 8/1952 Bell et a1 24245 2,609,998 9/1952 Sear 242-45 X 2,947,490 8/1960 Gonsalves 242--45 FOREIGN PATENTS 594,286 3/ 1960 Canada.

19,719 of 1894 Great Britain. 488,456 12/ 1953 Italy.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH P. STRIZAK, Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A YARN WINDING MACHINE, ROTATABLE TAKE UP MEANS FOR WINDING YARN INTO A PACKAGE, YARN SUPPLY MEANS FOR FEEDING YARN TO SAID TAKE UP MEANS AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT LINEAR SPEED, CONSTANT SPEED DRIVE MEANS FOR SAID TAKE UP MEANS, A SPEED CHANGING MECHANISM OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID DRIVE MEANS TO SAID TAKE UP MEANS AND ADAPTED TO ADJUST THE RATE OF ROTATION OF THE YARN TAKE UP MEANS RELATIVE TO THE RATE OF YARN SUPPLY TO COMPENSATE FOR INCREASE IN THE DIAMETER OF THE PACKAGE DURING PACKAGE FORMATION, SAID SPEED CHANGING MECHANISM COMPRISING DRIVING AND DRIVEN DISC MEMBERS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT AXES DISPOSED IN A COMMON PLANE, A FRICTION WHEEL MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID COMMON PLANE AND IN SIMULTANEOUS ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID DISC MEMBERS, MEANS CONNECTING SAID DRIVING DISC MEMBER TO SAID DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATION THEREBY, MEANS CONNECTING SAID DRIVEN DISC MEMBER TO SAID TAKE UP MEANS TO ACTUATE THE SAME, MOUNTING MEANS MOUNTING SAID FRICTION WHEEL FOR MOVEMENT ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID COMMON PLANE WHEREBY SAID FRICTION WHEEL TENDS TO MOVE IN ONE DIRECTION GENERALLY RADIALLY RELATIVE TO THE DISC MEMBERS WHEN THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF THE FRICTION WHEEL IS DISPOSED ON ONE SIDE OF SAID COMMON PLANE THEREBY TO INCREASE THE SPEED OF ROTATION OF THE DRIVEN DISC MEMBER RELATIVE TO THE DRIVING DISC MEMBER AND WHEREBY SAID FRICTION WHEEL TENDS TO MOVE GENERALLY RADIALLY RELATIVE TO THE DISC MEMBERS IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE SAID ONE DIRECTION WHEN THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF THE FRICTION WHEEL IS DISPOSED ON THE SIDE OF SAID COMMON PLANE OPPOSITE SAID ONE SIDE THEREBY TO DECREASE THE SPEED OF ROTATION OF SAID DRIVEN DISC MEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID DRIVING DISC MEMBER, AND MEANS OPERABLE TO ACTUATE SAID MOUNTING MEANS TO DISPLACE THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF SAID FRICTION WHEEL TO SAID ONE SIDE OF SAID COMMON PLANE WHEN YARN IS TAKEN UP SLOWER THAN IT IS BEING FED AND OPERABLE TO ACTUATE SAID MOUNTING MEANS TO DISPLACE THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF SAID FRICTION WHEEL TO THE SIDE OF SAID COMMON PLANE OPPOSITE SAID ONE SIDE WHEN YARN IS TAKEN UP FASTER THAN IT IS BEING FED AND DAMPING MEANS OPERABLE TO MINIMIZE THE TENDENCY OF SAID FRICTION WHEEL TO HUNT DURING FORMATION OF THE PACKAGE.