US3290732A

US3290732A - Drafting arrangement

Info

Publication number: US3290732A
Application number: US328564A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bobby L Pitts
Original assignee: Milliken Research Corp
Current assignee: Deering Milliken Research Corp; Milliken Research Corp
Priority date: 1963-12-06
Filing date: 1963-12-06
Publication date: 1966-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 1983-12-13
Also published as: CH421774A; ES306797A1; BE656682A; NL6414209A; GB1094093A; NL145290B

Description

Dec. 13, 1966 P s 3,290,732

DRAFTING ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. BOBBY L. PITTS BY M R, W

ATTORNEY Dec. 13, 1966 B. L. PITTS DRAFTING ARRANGEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1963 INVENTOR.

BO B BY L. P l T TS ATTO R NEY United States Patent 3,290,732 DRAFTING ARRANGEMENT Bobby L. Pitts, Spartanburg, S.C., assignor to Deerlng Milliken Research Corporation, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 328,564 3 Claims. (Cl. 19-255) This invention relates to textile handling apparatus and more particularly to a textile drafting arrangement which provides for apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning and which is particularly adapted for manufacture by molding.

It has been found most advantageous in an apron type drafting arrangement to provide guiding and cleaning elements for the aprons, which elements also serve to clean the apron carrying roll surface. Such cleaning and guiding elements, including cradles integrally incorporating such cleaning and guiding elements, are advantageously formed with two converging apron guiding surfaces which may 'terminate at the small end in a reduced diameter nose, and at the opposite larger end having a concave roll engaging surface which bears against the apron carrying roll and cleans the outer surface thereof. The apron exerts a compressive force on the cleaning and guiding element at the nose end, and this force is transmitted through the element to the concave bearing surface against the roll. In providing for molding of these tapered cleaning and guiding elements it is necessary to provide for ease of mold release and to minimize the likelihood for warpage and provide satisfactory strength of the molded piece.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide mold-ed apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning elements which are easily molded with a minimum of warpage.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element which has .a minimum number of parts and is therefore easier and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element which is supported on the rolls to reduce the possibility of apron breakage.

.become apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view in perspective of a drafting arrangement incorporating the herein disclosed invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the drafting arrangement shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the novel apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element;

FIGURE 4 is a modified version of a portion of the element shown in FIGURE 3; 7

FIGURE 5 is a still further modification of the element shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is still another modification of the element shown in FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 7 is a modification of FIGURES 1-2 which can employ any of the forms of the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element shown in FIGURES 3-6.

Referring now in detail to the figures of the drawings, an illustrative preferred embodiment is shown in FIG- UR-ES l3, in which a running mass of staple fibers F is passed in conventional manner successively between pairs of

drafting rolls

10 and 12, 14 and 16, and 18 and 20, the middle pair of

rolls

14 and 16 having a pair of endless fiber control aprons 22 and 24, respectively.

Inasmuch as the major amount of drafting is conventionally accomplished in the zone between the

middle rolls

14, 16 and the front rolls 18, 20 from which the fibers proceed and are either twisted into yarn or drafted further, and since the running mass of fibers is also brought to a minimum size in the zone between the middie and front pairs of rolls, it is most desirable that the fibers be controlled as closely as possible in this zone. The present invention facilitates this control by the aprons while also enabling the ease of molding of the apron controlling and cleaning element.

Looking now to FIGURES 1-3 and more particularly to FIGURE 3 the preferred apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning elements consists of four basic components, namely combination cradle and clearer element 28, combination cradle and clearer element 30, screw member 32, and connecting member 34.

Various materials may be employed in the formation of the above-mentioned apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element, including particularly those plastics which are readily moldable and which have good stability and wear characteristics, as for instance Delrin acetal resin, nylon, and Bakelite.

In the preferred form of the invention, both of the combination cradle and

clearer elements

28 and 30 include

upstanding wall members

36 and 38 respectively which frictionally engage the roll neck 40 of top center roll 24 to position the integrally connected apron guiding and roll and

apron cleaning elements

42 and 44 within the

respective aprons

22 and 24. Preferably,

elongated notches

46 and 48 in the

wall members

36 and 38 are slightly narrower in width than the diameter of the roll neck 40 to provide a'tight frictional contact between the roll neck 40 and the combination cradle and

clearer elements

28 and 30 in order to properly position the apron guiding and

roll cleaning elements

42 and 44 within the

aprons

22 and 24, respectively.

Apron guiding and roll cleaning element 44 has a concave roll engaging surface 50 with a radius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of curvature of the external diameter of the roll 16 and is in peripheral engagement therewith. Element 42 further has an apron and guiding surface 52 which supports run 54 of apron 24 and cleans the inner surface thereof due to the rubbing action of the apron on the surfare. Apr-on and guiding surface 52 extends between the concave surface 50 and the nose portion 56 about which the apron reverses direction and is tensioned thereby. Nose portion 56 has a radius of curvature substantially less that of the concave roll engaging surface. Extending between the nose portion 56 and the concave surface 50 adjacent the fiber engaging surface of the apron 24 is a surface 58 which engages the apron 24 adjacent the nose portion 56 but is inclined away from the apron as it extends toward the concave surface 50 in order to allow the drafting of various diameter fibers without adjusting the drafting area between the

aprons

22 and 24.

Apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning member 42 is similar to element 44 is that it also has concave roll engaging portion 60 with a radius of curvature substantially that of the radius of curvature of the roll 14 and is in peripheral engagement therewith. Furthermore element 42 has an apron guiding and cleaning surface 62 in contact with the inner surface of the apron 22 as it passes from the nose portion 64 to the roll 14. Nose portion 64 has a radius of curvature substantially less than the radius of curvature of the concave surface 60. EX- tending between the nose portion 64 and the concave surface 60 adjacent the inner surface of the fiber engaging run of the apron 22 is an apron supporting and cleaning surface 66 which is chamfered away from the apron 22 at 68 in order to aid in feed-through of the fiber mass between this surface and the adjacent fiber control run of the apron 24.

If desired, the

edges

70 and 72 of the element 44 and the

edges

74 and 76 of the element 42 can be blunted or rounded to prevent any interference between the aprons, the rolls, and the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning

members

42 and 44.

It should be noted (FIGURE 1) that the

wall members

36 and 38 extend beyond the

apron members

22 and 24 thereby confining the aprons in a predescribed path and preventing the rupture of the aprons by engagement with one of the front rolls.

As previously pointed out the herein described apron guiding and roll and cleaning member is molded from a plastic type of material. Looking at FIGURES 2 and 3 it can be seen that a cavity 78 has been provided in member 42 and a cavity 80 has been provided in member 44. These cavities have been so designed as to provide walls of substantially equal thickness in order to provide uniform cooling in order to minimize warpage due to non-uniform cooling of the members.

Looking at FIGURE 3 the construction and assembly of the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning memher is shown. As previously pointed out a cavity 78 is provided in the member 42. The particular shape of this cavity is not a part of the invention but preferably is of a shape which has several sharp corners therein to prevent rotation of a member inserted therein which conforms to the shape of the cavity. Connecting member 34 is then molded to snugly fit the cavity 78. The proper spacing between the

surfaces

58 and 66 of the

members

42 and 44 to provide the desired degree of drafting is selected and wall member 38 and the connecting member 34 are drilled to accommodate such spacing. Then connecting member 34 is attached to wall member 38 in any suitable manner such as screw 32. Then member 44 is placed into position in relation to member 42 by merely inserting connecting member 34 into cavity 78 and squeezing the

members

42 and 44 together until member 44 abuts the inside of wall member 36 and member 42 abuts the inside of wall 38 at which time the connecting member 34 will be securely held within the confines of cavity 78.

If desired, a connecting member similar to connecting member 34 may be secured to wallmember 36 and be so shaped as to engage the cavity 80 of the member 44 at the same time that connecting member 34 is engaging cavity 78. Such would give a stronger interconnection of the

elements

42 and 44 and prevent twisting of the element 44 but in actual practice such does not appear necessary.

As previously stated the length of the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning apparatus in the direction of the fiber feed may be any length desired in order to handle any fiber lengths. This is merely a matter of designing a mold to accommodate the particular length of fiber which it is desired to draft. Furthermore, the opening between the

nose portions

56 and 64 of the apron guiding and roll and

apron cleaning elements

44 and 42 can be adjusted merely by preselecting the position of the hole 82 in the wall member 38 and the hole 84 in connecting member 34.

The modification of FIGURE 4 is the same as the preferred embodiment of FIGURES 1-3 except that the connecting member 34 is molded as an integral part of the wall member 38. This modification obviously does not allow the spacing between the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning members to be changed but obviously two or more members can be molded to provide various spacings.

The modification of FIGURE 5 provides a construction in which the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning member is molded in two halves and tongues 86 are provided on one half designed to frictionally engage grooves 88 on the other half. As in the modification of FIGURE 4 various molds will have to be made to provide different spacing between the

elements

42 and 44.

The modification of FIGURE 6 is similar to that of FIGURE 5 except that the tongue and groove connection is eliminated and pin members 90 interconnect the halves of the apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning element through holes 92 drilled therein.

It is further contemplated that a combination of the modification shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 may be employed in that both the tongue and groove and the pins 90 may be employed together.

As previously set forth the modification of FIGURE 7 is applicable to the modifications set forth in the preferred embodiment of FIGURES 1-3 as Well as the modification of FIGURES 4-6. In the use of the invention shown in FIGURES-1-6 it has been found that some of the fibers coming from the rolls 11 and 12 tend to fan out and get caught between the

wall members

36 and 38 and the

rolls

14 and 16 resulting in an accumulation of fibers which if left will eventually decrease the efiiciency of the drafting system. To prevent such accumulation of fibers the

wall members

36 and 38 have been extended toward the rolls 10 and 12. Rounded ridges 94 have been provided on the

extension

96 and 98 of

wall members

36 and 38 to guide the incoming fibers toward the center of the

rolls

14 and 16 and to prevent any fibers from being caught between the

wall members

36 and 38 and the

rolls

14 and 16.

The herein disclosed invention provides an apron drafting system in which the apron and the rolls are continuously cleaned and at the time provides support for the apron in the critical area of the drafting zone. Furthermore, this invention provides a compact, readily assembled apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning system which has a minimum number of parts and is inexpensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the new apron guiding and roll and apron cleaning drafting system is supported in a manner to alleviate the problem of breakage of the aprons due to inadvertent contact with the front rolls. The novel drafting arrangement disclosed herein has the further advantage that it can be made so as to handle various lengths staple fibers and can be so sized or adjusted to handle various degrees of drafting.

Although I have described specifically the preferred embodiments of my invention I contemplate that changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of my invention and I desire to be limited only by the scope of the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A cradle assembly for a textile drafting arrange ment having a pair of drafting rolls carrying fiber control aprons thereabout comprising spaced apart Wall members, a first nonrotatable apron guiding member extending between and attached to said wall members, a second nonrotatable apron guiding member spaced from said first apron guiding member and extending between and attached to said wall members, said first apron guiding member having a concave surface at one end adapted to contact one of said drafting rolls and an apron reversal portion at the other end, said first apron guiding member having at least two sections with one section molded to one of said spaced apart wall members and the other of 5 6 said two sections molded to the other of said spaced References Cited by the Examiner apart wall members, and means on -one section of said UNITED STATES PATENTS two sectlons engaging the other section of sa1d two sections to maintain said wall members in spaced relation- 2,132,299 10/1938 Jackson -r- 19-253 ship and to hold said two sections together. 5 3056174 10/1962 Macdonald 19 255 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said means in 3,116,518 1/1964 Newton 19245 cludes a projection molded to one of said two sections. 3,129,467 4/1964 Swanson 19 255 3. The structure of claim 2 wherein an opening is 3,132,384 5/1964 Newton 19245 formed in one of said two sections, said projection being on the other of said two sections and projecting into 10 MERVIN STEIN Prlmary Exammer' said opening. DONALD W. PARKER, D. NEWTON, Examiners.

Claims

1. A CRADLE ASSEMBLY FOR A TEXTILE DRAFTING ARRANGEMENT HAVING A PAIR OF DRAFTING ROLLS CARRYING FIBER CONTROL APRONS THEREABOUT COMPRISING SPACED APART WALL MEMBERS, A FIRST NONROTATABLE ARPON GUIDING MEMEBR EXTENDING BETWEEN AND ATTACHED TO SAID WALL MEMBERS, A SECOND NONROTATABLE APRON GUIDING MEMBER SPACED FROM SAID FIRST APRON GUIDING MEMBER AND EXTENDING BETWEEN AND ATTACHED TO SAID WALL MEMBERS, SAID FIRST APRON GUIDING MEMBER HAVING A CONCAVE SURFACE AT ONE END ADAPTED TO CONTACT ONE OF SAID DRAFTING ROLLS AND AN APRON REVERSAL PORTION AT THE OTHER END, SAID FIRST APRON GUIDING MEMBER HAVING AT LEAST TWO SECTIONS WITH ONE SECTION MOLDED TO ONE OF SAID SPACED APART WALL MEMBERS AND THE OTHER OF SAID TWO SECTIONS MOLDED TO THE OTHER OF SAID SPACED APART WALL MEMBERS, AND MEANS ON ONE SECTION OF SAID TWO SECTIONS ENGAGING THE OTHER SECTION OF SAID TWO SECTIONS TO MAINTAIN SAID WALL MEMBERS IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP AND TO HOLD SAID TWO SECTIONS TOGETHER.