US3372882A - Method of controlling the ring rail movement of a ring twisting machine - Google Patents

Description

March 12, 1968 GRAF F- A. METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE RING RAIL MOVEMEN OF A RING 'IWISTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1962 3 Sheets-Sht 1- Fig. I

- INVENTOR. FeL/x Am 1: as GM! March 12, 1 968 F. A. GRAF 3,372,882 METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE RING RAIL MOVEMENT I OF A RING TWIS'I'ING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

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INVENTOR. Fel/X Original Filed Dec. 12, 1962 March 12, 1968 F. A. GRAF 3,

METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE RING RAIL MOVEMENT F A RING TWISTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet S United States Patent Ofiice 3,372,882 Patented Mar. 12, 1968 3,372,882 METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE RING RAIL MOVEMENT OF A RING TWISTING MACHINE Felix Andreas Graf, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to 5 Maschinenfabrik Rieter A.G., Winterthur, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Original application Dec. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 244,109. Divided and this application Aug. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 480,437 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Feb. 26, 1962, 2,290/ 62 8 Claims. (Cl. 242-261) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The method of winding the filament packages includes an initial step of winding a small number of very steep windings on the spindle. Thereafter, the knotting windings are wound onto the spindle and, following that, a small number of very steep windings are wound on the spindle. The package proper is then wound onto the spindle.

This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 244,109, filed Dec. 12, 1962, now Patent No. 3,245,215.

This invention relates to textile ring twisting machines.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method of winding filament packages on ring twisting machines having a plurality of rotatable spindles, a ring placed around each spindle and being traversed up and down, each ring guiding a ring traveller which begins to move around the respective spindle simultaneously with the starting of filament supply for winding waste windings and a package on the spindle, the improved method including winding knotting windings of equal lengths on all spindles, winding a small number of very steep windings prior to the winding of the knotting windings and winding a small number of very steep windings after winding the knotting windings and before winding the package proper.

In an improvement of the winding method according to the invention a small number of very steep windings are wound on an end bulge zone at one end of the filament package and an end bulge is wound upon said steep windings. If desired, after winding said end bulge, the filament may be wound in a few very steep windings to reach the opposite end of the package and a second end bulge may be wound on said last mentioned very steep windings at the second end of the package.

The pitch of the knotting windings is preferably very small and the knotting windings are wound at opposite inclinations. The pitch of the knotting windings may be decreased in a damped manner.

An object of the invention is to provide an electrohydraulic control of the ring rail movement of a ring twisting machine, particularly for a stretching and twisting machine, for treating strands of continuous filaments whose continuous filaments are subjected to a stretching 60 process to increase their strength and are then twisted before they are wound.

Stretching and twisting machines in which the ring rail is raised and lowered by means of heart, cam and lever mechanisms are already known. These known machines have a number of serious disadvantages. Thus, for example, although the level of the winding stroke can be altered, the height of the stroke itself cannot be adapted to the requirements of a particular operation, so that there is a serious restriction in the choice of the type of winding and the construction of the package. Another disadvantage is that the speed at which the ring rail is raised and lowered can be adapted to particular operating conditions only by interchanging gear wheels or by making use of some supplementary mechanism which considerably complicates the construction of the machine and increases the cost. Moreover, an attachment for knotting the thread, which is fixed to the bottom of a bobbin sleeve while the ring rail is at a standstill for a short time, cannot be applied over a fixed width if the ring rail movement is controlled by mechanical means.

There are also known hydraulic mechanisms for moving the ring rail which generally consist of pistons working in cylinders and directly coupled with the ring rail. The movement of these pistons is controlled and reversed by an electromagnetically actuated multi-way valve. The electromagnets are actuated by limit switches attached to the framework of the machine and acting through linkages connected with the ring rail. Like the mechanical systems, these hydraulic systems have the great disadvantage that with the rapid reversal of movement of the heavy ring rail which is required nowadays in stretching and twisting machines, the movement cannot be carried out smoothly at the end of the raising and lowering movement; consequently, vibrations are superimposed on one another and build up near the upper and lower reversal points, and this leads to the formation of ridges on the cops.

The known hydraulic mechanisms for moving ring rails are only provided with means to ensure the raising and lowering of the ring rail at uniform speed at the beginning and end of the process of winding a cop, and this leads to ditficulties in the subsequent treatment of the cop, because the windings on the cop follow a stepped path so that the thread cannot be drawn oif smoothly. Furthermore, the end piece which is wound on to the cop at the end of the winding process consists of a number of wingings varying within wide limits, which again is not desirable for the subsequent treatment of the cop;

The disadvantages do not occur in the electro-hydraulic system according to the present invention. According to the invention there is provided an electro-hydraulic device for controlling the movement of a ring rail of a textile ring twisting machine, comprising a working cylinder, 8. piston displaceable in the cylinder, a piston rod for transmitting movement from the piston to the ring rail, ducts leading into the working cylinder on opposite sides of the piston, a reversing valve connected. to the ducts, a liquid supply pump connected to the reversing valve, a reflux duct connected to the reversing valve, a governor connected with the reflux duct for adjusting the return flow of liquid, and a valve for bridging the governor and connected in parallel with the governor which valve is opened at the beginning and at the end of a winding operation of the machine.

The electro-hydraulic control may have a stop valve which is actuated by the ring rail and interrupts the flow of liquid for a certain time, the valve being connected in a duct whose inflow of liquid displaces the working piston. The stop valve is advantageously arranged in the duct in which the liquid is supplied to the cylinder during the upward movement of the ring rail, because, in this case oscillations of the ring rail are produced at the beginning of the closure of the stop valve, which oscillations secure the end of the thread moving upward from the waste bulge at the lower end of the cop. The stop valve may then be bridged over by a supply rate governor adjustable to a low rate of through-flow for the purpose of producing a broad connecting bulge.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic diagram of a mechanism for moving a ring rail,

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 illustrate as a function of time the various raising and lowering movements of the ring rail for forming a cop,

FIGURE is a detail thereof,

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are diagrams of electric circuits for carrying out raising and lowering movements in accordance with the programs illustrated in FIGURES 2 to 4.

In the arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 1, a ring rail 2 containing spinning rings 1 (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 1) is moved up and down by oscillating toggle levers 3 mounted on fixed pivots 4, Each of these toggle levers has a roller 3 or 3" at one end, the vertically moving ring rail 2 being supported on these rollers. The oscillation is imparted to the toggle levers 3 by a piston rod 5 of a piston 6 which is reciprocated by liquid in a working cylinder 7. The piston 6 is controlled by a reversing valve 8 by way of ducts 9 and 10 connected to the ends of cylinder 7. A magnetic armature surrounded by two separate solenoids 13 and 14 which are energized by limit switches 16 and 17 respectively is arranged on a piston rod 12 provided with a damping plate 11. These limit switches 16 and 17 are connected to two separate linkages 21 and 20, each of which is controlled by a removable cam disc 19 and 18 respectively. These switches are moved up and down according to the type of package to be produced, each of the cam discs 18 and 19 being driven by its own variable speed motor M and M respectively. By suitable choice of the cam discs 18 and 19 and adjustment of the speed of the motors M and M it is possible to produce any type of ring rail movement and therefore any type of package. A switching rod 22 is rigidly connected with the ring rail 2 and participates in its upward and downward movement. The rod 22 is connected with a cam 23 and actuates the limit switches 16 and 17 and also a switch 24 for knotting the thread, the switch 24 being connected with a soleoid 25 of a stop valve 26 which is situated in the duct 10 and being open when no current flows and is bridged over by a supply rate governor 26 which can be adjusted to zero or to small quantities. The valve 26 has an armature 26'.

As seen in FIG. 1, the switch 17 is in its lowest position and the switch 24 whose elevation is fixed is always below the switch 17.

The hydraulic system comprises a tank 27 for liquid and a conveyor pump 28 which is driven by a motor M and which supplies actuating liquid to the reversing valve 8 through a duct 29. Associated with the conveyor pump 28, is an excess pressure valve 30 connected in parallel, a high speed valve 32 arranged in a reflux duct 31 and a flow rate governor 33 arranged in parallel for adjusting the rate of return flow and hence the speed of raising and lowering of the ring rail in normal operation. A sleeve 34 on the spindle carries a cop 35 which is in the process of being built up. To facilitate further work on the cop, a terminal bulge 36 is formed at the top and a bulge 37 at the bottom for connecting the thread by a knot. Further down, on the spindle itself, there is a waste bulge 38 which is formed at the beginning of the winding process with unstretched material which is to be excluded from subsequent treatment processes, and this bulge is removed from the spindle from time to time by the operator. When the upper terminal bulge 36 has been wound, a number of windings can be wound on the waste bulge 38 (for further details see FIGURES 4 and 8). The elevation of this waste bulge 38 which is formed with the ring rail in its lowest position depends entirely on the position of an adjustment nut 39 on the cylinder 7, which represents a mechanical stop for the piston rod, The terminal bulge 36, which is also necessary and which is formed at the end of the winding process, is formed when the ring rail is in its uppermost position which is determined by the position of a fork 40' secured by a lock nut 40. The position of the fork 40' may be adjusted by turning the piston rod 5. In the lowest position of the ring rail, the lock nut 40 comes into contact with the adjustment nut 39 whose position determines the elevation of the waste bulge 38.

The reversing valve 8 consists of a three-step piston 41 which controls the inflow and outflow of the fluid to and from the ends of the cylinder 7 through the ducts 9, 10. A vessel 42 which is opened at the top and has a constricted zone 43 in the middle and is filled with control fluid contains the piston rod 12 together with the damping plate 11 which is in the constricted zone when in the neutral position in which the movement of the piston 6 is reversed. The purpose of the damping plate 11 is to suppress the oscillations shown in FIG. 2 and occurring at the upper and lower ends of the winding. FIGURE 3 shows the effect of the damping means 11, 43. The program of movement for the ring rail shown in FIGURE 2 begins at the lower mechanical starting position UMA, in which the ring rail remains during the period to 2; of starting the machine. This is followed by a rise of the ring rail at high speed until the switch 24 for the knotting bulge 37 is actuated. Thereafter the ring rail 2 is kept at a standstill by a time relay 49, FIGURES 6 to 8, until the time 1 when there is again a rapid rise until the slower normal movement is initiated by the switch 54 whose elevation is fixed. A rapid rise over the sleeve 34 when the latter is still empty results in a very small number of steep windings which subsequently make it easier to draw the thread off the spool. When a predetermined length of material has been wound for a given time during the operation of the machine at normal speed and the cop or package 35 has thereby been built up, a counting mechanism 44 (see FIG. 6) effects formation of the terminal or end bulge 36 (time t which may, if necessary, cause the ring rail to descend again to the lower limit switch 17 at the normal speed and then cause it to rise to the level of the switch 54 again at the normal speed (time 1 and this switch then initiates the rapid rise at a time and interrupts the spindle drive at the time 22; in such a manner that after reaching the upper mechanical stop OMA at the time t until the spindles are stopped at t the same number of windings are applied each time to the terminal bulge 36 (t t =constant).

FIGURE 3 shows in principle the same program of movement up to the time 13;, but the switch 54 switches to high speed for downward movement of the spindle rail at the time t i.e. after a delay period so that a small number of windings are applied to the cop until the lower mechanical stop UMA is reached at the time i whereupon a terminal or end bulge is applied until the spindle comes to rest completely at the time t In FIGURE 4, a terminal bulge is applied at UMA in addition to the terminal bulge OMA by rapidly lowering the spindle rail 2 completely at the time t and then stopping the spindle rail at the time t This can only be done if the spindle rail has reached UMA before the time 1 The corresponding electrical connections by means of which these programs are produced are illustrated in FIG- URES 6, 7 and 8 and are hereinafter described in more detail.

FIGURE 5 shows the effect of the supply rate governor 26". When this governor allows a small quantity to flow through, there will be a slight ascent of the ring rail (broken line) in spite of the fact that the stop valve 26 is closed, and the result of this is that the connecting or knotting bulge will have a certain width, which is often desirable in practice. FIGURE 5 is an enlargement of the part of the diagram FIGURE 4 in the zone of the connecting bulge. When the stop valve 26 in the duct 10 is closed, an impulse wave is produced in the duct 10. This wave is transmitted through the piston 6 on to the ring rail 2 which then executes a damped oscillation as shown in FIGURE 5. Such oscillations would occur at the reversal points in the normal process of building up the package if the damping plate 11 in the vessel 42 were omitted, but in this case they are desirable because when the thread has been severed at 56 (FIGURE 5) below the connecting bulge before the spool is drawn off, the free end of the thread is not easily unwound because it is held by the windings formed over it as a result of the oscillation.

The circuit diagram in FIGURE 6 corresponds to the program of movement illustrated in FIGURE 2. When the machine starts up and the spindles are set in operation by the motor M the ring rail 2 is situated on the lower mechanical stop UMA. When the manually operated starting button 45 is pressed, current flows through the magnet 45 and the armature 46 is energized and the sequence switch 47 is turned by one notch into the starting position (shown in broken lines) whereby a voltage is applied to a starting bus bar 48. The motors M M and M are thereby started in addition to the pump motor M which is already in operation for putting the hydraulic system into a condition of readiness (time t At the same time, the time relay 49 energizes the solenoid 14 at the time t by closing a switch 50, whereby the reversing valve 8 is set for lifting and a voltage is supplied to the solenoid 51 of the high speed valve 32 through the conductor 52 for opening the valve. When the ring rail reaches the switch 24 as it moves at high speed, the switch is closed, and the stop valve 26 is closed by means of the solenoid 25. At the time t the time relay 53 opens the circuit and the stop valve 26 is opened by spring pressure. The ring rail 2 again rises rapidly until it actuates a switch 54 arranged at a certain elevation, and this establishes connection with a bus bar 55 for normal operation through the magnet 45 of the sequence switch 47. No more energy is now supplied to the solenoid 51 of the high speed valve 32, and the ring rail continues its ascent at normal speed until it reaches the limit switch 16 and closes it and sets the reversing valve 8 to descent until it reaches the lower limit switch 17. From then on, it moves up and down, reversed in direction alternately by the limit switches 16 and 17 the elevation of which is adjusted by the program motors M and M through the cams 18 and 19, depending on the desired type of winding. When the counting element 4 has run down, i.e. when the desired length of filament has been wound on to the spool, the switch 57 of the counting mechanism 44 is closed. Nothing happens then until the ring rail actuates the switch 54 and the sequence switch 47 is brought to the end bulge forming position whereby the reversing valve 8 is immediately moved into the position of descent by the end bulge bus bar 58 and the conductor 59. At the time t switches 61, 62 and 63 are operated by a time relay 6! as a result of which current flows through the solenoids 14 and 51, and the ring rail is rapidly raised. As the limit switch 16 is actuated but transmits no current, so that the movement is not reversed as in normal operation, the ring rail continues on its movement until it reaches the upper mechanical stop OMA. When the sequence switch 47 has been switched to the end bulge bus bar 58, the supply of energy to the motors M M and M is also cut off, so that the spindles of the machine are brought to a standstill at the time t This, however, still enables a sufficient number of turns to be wound on to the tip of the sleeve 34 to form the end bulge 36 after the mechanical stop OMA has been reached and before the spindle is brought to a complete standstill. In practice, it is necessary always to have the same number of windings for all the operations at the tip of the sleeve so that the operation will always be stopped at the same point in time. For this reason, the command stop is stored after the counting mechanism 44 has been released, until the switch 54 is actuated by the ring rail on its downward path. For a particular operation of the machine, the switch 54 is fixed in position on the framework of the machine. When the upper end bulge 36 has been formed, the spools are changed in the normal manner and the ring rail is lowered by manual control so that the sequence of operations begins again from the lower mechanical stop UMA.

The program of movement shown in FIGURE 3 differs .bulge formation. The switch 54 from the one shown in FIGURE 2 by the fact that the end bulge is formed at the bottom in the region of the waste bulge 38. This means that instead of the ring rail being raised to the upper mechanical stop OMA after the time t it is lowered to the lower stop UMA. The circuit diagram is altered accordingly, as shown in FIGURE 7. The ascending ring rail 2 actuates the switch 54 which activates the end bulge bus bar 58 through the sequence switch 47 and thereby reverses the ring rail movement through the conductor 64. At the same time, the time relay 60 begins to operate and at the time i it switches on to high speed through the switch 63. As the time of operation t -t is known or so designed in advance that the spindles will still be rotating when the ring rail has already reached the lower stop UMA (time t an end bulge consisting of a few turns of the thread will be formed at the bottom.

In the program of movement shown in FIGURES 4 and 8, the formation of the upper end bulge 36 in accordance with the first variation is followed by a rapid decent to the lower mechanical stop UMA. The corresponding circuit diagram FIGURE 8 requires the following explanation: at the start of the operation of the time relay 60 (t which switches to lifting and rapid at the time t the time relay 65 which is connected in parallel also comes into operation and at the time t it switches over from lifting to lowering by means of the switches 66 and 67. This causes the ring rail to descend to the mechanical stop UMA with the result that a helical steeply inclined winding is produced on the finished cop, and in addition a small reserve winding is wound on at the bottom.

The switch 54 is actuated whenever it is passed by the element 23, but is effective only when there is current in the starting bus bar 48 or in the end bulge bus bar 58. The switch 54 becomes effective when, after starting, the quick ascent of the ring rail changes to normal winding opera- .tion and when, after actuation of the switch 57 by the counter 44, the normal winding program changes to end must be so placed as to be always :below the lowest position of the switch 16 because, otherwise, the normal winding program cannot be changed to the end bulge forming program.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of winding the steps of mounting a sleeve on a support,

feeding a supply of filament for winding on the sleeve,

winding a relatively small number of first steep windings on the support and the sleeve,

winding a relatively large number of knotting windings of equal length over the steep windings on the sleeve to produce a transfer tail thereon,

thereafter winding a relatively small number of second steep windings over the sleeve,

subsequently building up a cop on the sleeve over said second steep windings, and

thereafter winding an end bulge of filament on the sleeve at the end opposite said transfer tail.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 which further includes the steps of winding relatively few steep windings from the end bulge to the other end of the sleeve, and winding an end bulge on the first steep windings.

3. A method of winding filament packages from stretched endless filaments on "a sleeve mounted on a spindle comprising the steps of winding a waste bulge of filament on the spindle below the sleeve,

subsequently winding a cop on the sleeve, and

winding a transfer tail bulge of useable filament material of predetermined length on the sleeve between said waste bulge and said cop before winding of said cop, the filament windings prior to winding of said transfer tail bulge being wound in a small number of steep windings and the filament windings subsequent to winding of said transfer tail bulge and filament packages comprising prior to Winding of said cop being wound in a small number of very steep windings.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 further comprising the steps of winding on a few very steep windings 0f non-useable filament material after winding of said cop until an end bulge zone at one end of the sleeve is reached and winding an end bulge of nonuseable filament material in said end bulge zone.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4 further comprising the steps of subsequently winding a few steep windings of non-useable filament material from said end bulge zone to a second end bulge zone at the opposite end of the sleeve and winding 21 second end bulge of non-useable filament material in said second end bulge zone.

6. A method as set forth in claim 5 wherein the second end bulge is wound below the transfer tail bulge.

7. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the windings of said transfer tail bulge are wound on a relatively small pitch.

8. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the windings of said transfer tail bulge include windings of opposite pitch, the pitch of the windings being relatively small and of damped manner.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Hamel; German application No. 1,123,960, Feb. 15, 1962.

WILLIAM S. BURDEN, Primary Examiner.

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