US3408714A

US3408714A - Automatic reeling machine

Info

Publication number: US3408714A
Application number: US648337A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kubo Koichiro; Murata Yojiro
Original assignee: Shimadzu Corp
Current assignee: Shimadzu Corp; Shimadzu Seisakusho Ltd
Priority date: 1967-06-23
Filing date: 1967-06-23
Publication date: 1968-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 1985-11-05

Description

Nov. 5, 1968 KOICHIRO KUBO ETAL 3,408,714

AUTOMATIC REELING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1967 FIG.4.

United States Patent O 3,408,714 AUTOMATIC REELING MACHINE Koichiro Kubo and Yojiro Murata, Kyoto, Japan, as-

signors to Shimadzu Seisakusho Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed June 23, 1967, Ser. No. 648,337

11 Claims. (Cl. 28-21) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An automatic reeling machine including a plurality of reeling units each having a reel for a single hank to be wound thereon, means for circulating the reeling units through an endless path and means for rotating each reel for winding thread thereon, said machine including means disposed adjacent the endless path for lacing said hanks on said reeling units.

This invention provides an automatic reeling machine which have a plurality of reeling units each having a reel of an axial length just enough for a single hank to be wound thereon and arranged to circulate along an endless path so that as they circulate, the thread from a cheese or bobbin is wound on each reel to form a hank thereon, which is automatically laced and then removed from the reel.

There are known many types of reeling machines, which generally comprise a single reel cage elongated along the axis of rotation of the reel cage, on which many hanks are wound axially spaced a predetermined distance apart. Improvements have hitherto been directed to increasing the rotational speed of the reel cage and consequently the winding or reeling speed. However, with these known types of machines, the lacing of the finished hanks and the subsequent removal of the laced hanks from the reel cage are complicated and troublesome, and require much skill of the Worker. For example, the lacing, that is, binding of each one or more leas in a hank with a thread has hitherto been manually performed. This requires much time and skill. For removal of laced hanks from the reel cage, the reel cage is deformed to reduce its diameter for the hanks thereon to be easily taken off the reel cage manually or otherwise. The mechanism for such selective reduction and restoration of the reel diameter is much complicated.

Another defect of the single elongated reel cage type of machines is that it is very difficult to obtain uniform banks from the same single machine. Since many hanks are simultaneously wound on the same and single reel cage, if during the winding operation, one of the hanks happens to have its thread broken or cut olf, that hank would no longer be wound, so that when the other hanks have been completed, that one hank would contain an insufficient quantity of thread. To avoid such an undesirable result, the machine must always be attended to by a worker during the operation so that if any of the threads happens to be broken, the cut end of the thread from the cheese is manually wound onto the rotating hank, or the machine is temporarily stopped to knot the cut ends of the thread. This, however, greatly decreases the reeling efliciency.

To eliminate the above defects, the automatic reeling ice machine of the invention is provided with a plurality of reeling units each having a reel of an axial length just suflicient for a single hank to be wound thereon and arranged to circulate along an endless path so that reeling operation is performed in each of the units individually as they circulate. A lacing device is disposed adjacent the endless path so that as the winding of a hank on each unit is finished, the device operates to lace the finished hank. Also disposed adjacent the endless path is a device for automatically removing the laced hank from the reel.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like parts and wherein;

FIG. 1 schematically shows the elongated reel cage of a known reeling machine;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top plan view of a reeling machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along line IIIIII' of FIG. 2, showing one reel unit;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along line IV-IV' of FIG. 2, showing a lacing device; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view taken along line VV of FIG. 2, showing a hank remover.

Referring now to the drawings, first to FIG. 1, there is shown a reel cage generally designated at RK and comprising a shaft S rotated by a motor M and supporting a plurality, say, six cage slats CS extending parallel to the axis of the shaft. The slats are secured to the shaft by means of spokes SP and arranged circumferentially about the shaft at a distance therefrom. As shown the cage slats are elongated axially enough for a plurality, say, six hanks H to be wound thereon axially spaced a distance apart, with six cheeses C feeding the hanks, respectively. The arrangement and structure is typical of the prior art reeling machines.

This invention, however, provides a fundamentally different arrangement as shown in FIG. 2. In accordance with the invention, a plurality of reeling units RU are arranged to circulate along an endless path defined by a vertically spaced pair of endless guide rails GR (FIG. 3). The units RU are connected by means of an endless connecting member such as an endless chain EC passing about a pair of sprocket wheels SW and SW, one of which is connected to a drive motor DM. Adjacent the endless path there are disposed a lacing device LD and a hank remover HR, both to be described in detail later.

Turning to FIG. 3, each reeling unit RU comprises a body 10 having on top thereof a cradle 11 for rotatably supporting a reel 12 at the outer end of the cradle. A support plate 13 is secured to the bottom of the body 10 for rotatably supporting a cheese 14. A roller 15 is mounted on the plate 13 for frictional contact with the lower guide rail G-R, while a pair of rollers 16 and 16' are mounted on the upper part of the body 10 for frictional contact with the upper guide rail GR. The three

rollers

15, 16 and 16' are so arranged as to slidably mount the unit on the two guide rails. The unit body 10 is secured to the endless chain EC by means of an angle member 17, so that as the chain runs, the units circulate along the guide rails GR. The cradle 11 is secured to the body 10 by means of a pin 18, which also rotatably supports a roller 19 and a pulley 20 secured to the roller for rotation therewith.

A pair of long drive rollers DR are arranged inside the opposed straight portions of the endless guide rails GR, so that as each reeling unit RU comes to run straight along the rollers DR, the roller 19 of the reeling unit frictionally contacts them to be rotated thereby. The cradle 11 is provided at the top end thereof with a pulley 21, to which the reel 12 is secured for simultaneous rotation. A belt 22 passes around the pulleys 19 and 21 for drive connection to rotate the reel 12.

The reel 12 comprises a plurality, say, six radial arms each having at its outer end an axial extension just sufficient to hold a single hank thereon. A thread 14' from the cheese 14 is passed through

guides rollers

23 and 24 mounted on the body so as to be traversely wound on the reel 12 to form a hank 25 as the unit circulates.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the lacing device LD comprises a body 26 movable on a pair of guide rails 27 extending substantially parallel with the straight portion of the guide rails GR and also on a pair of guide rails 28, only one of which is shown, extending perpendicularly to the guide rails 27. A drive motor 29 is mounted on the body 26 for selectively moving the body along the

guide rails

27 and 28. A pair of

racing needles

30 and 31 are mounted on the body 26 extending perpendicularly to each other and axially movable relative to the body 26 by means of a suitable mechanism enclosed therein. The

needles

30 and 31 have a hole through which a lacing thread from

cheeses

32 and 33 is passed.

Normally the device LD is at a position farthest away from the rails GR, waiting for a reeling unit having a finished hank thereon to come around, whereupon the device LD approaches the reeling unit on the rails 28 as far as the hank 25 is positioned between the two

lacing needles

30 and 31 as shown in FIG. 4. As the reeling unit moves, say, in the direction of an arrow X in FIG. 1, the device LD moves on the guide rails 27 in the same direction to follow the unit RU for some time, during which the lacing of the finished hank on the unit with the threads 32' and 33 is performed, with the help of a knotter 34 mounted on the body 26.

When the lacing has been completed, the device LD returns to its original retired position to wait for a next reeling unit to czne around. As the reeling unit further advances around the sprocket wheel SW, it comes in front of the hank remover HR. As shown in FIG. 5, the hank remover comprises a support 35 and an arm 36 swingable about a pivot 37 secured at its lower end to the support. The arm 36 is provided at its outer end with a frame 38 in the form of an are extending about twothirds of a full circle and having a plurality, say, three radially inwardly extending L-shaped hooks 381, 38-2 and 38-3 for hooking the laced hank olf the reel of the unit. The arrangement must be such that when the arm 36 is swung into the path of the circulating reeling unit, the L-shaped hooks of the remover frame 38 are positioned just between the radial arms of the reel 12, so that as the reel 12 moves from the obverse toward the reverse of the drawing shect (FIG. 5), the radial arms of the reel pass between the hooks, thereby leaving the hank 25 hooked on the hooks. Then, the arm 36 is swung out of the path of the reeling unit back to its original position to wait for a next reeling unit with a laced hank to come around. The mechanism that effects such swinging back and forth of the remover arm 36 may be enclosed in the support 35 and is well known to those skilled in the art that no further explanation nor illustration will be necessary.

The lacing device and the hank remover may be operated manually by an attendant to the machine, or automatically by a suitable device that can automatically detect the completion of the reeling of a hank on a reeling unit and operate the lacing device and the hank remover.

It is now believed to have become apparent that the characteristic of the invention lies in the provision of a plurality of reeling units arranged to circulate along an 4 endless path so as to perform reeling operation individually as they circulate, with a lacing device and a hank remover disposed adjacent the endless path so as to perform their respective functions. Accordingly, the invention has various advantages over the prior art single elongated reel cage type of machines. The invention greatly increases the reeling efficiency. Manual labor for lacing and removal of the laced hanks is dispensed with. Hanks are wound individually on the separate reeling units, so that even when one or more of the reeling units have to be stopped due to the thread, for example, having been broken, the other units can continue their reeling operation, and that the knotting of. the cut ends of the thread on the stopped unit can bedone with ease. Furthermore, with the machine of the invention, itis .possiblelo obtain substantially uniform hanks, that is, hanks containing equal quantities'of thread. Since reeling is performed on individual reeling units, it is possible to selectively remove only those finished hanks, while leaving unfinished ones on the reeling units until they have been finished.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but that there may bemany modifications and changes. For example, the lacing device and the hank remover may be of a different construction, and may be positioned otherwise, for example, side by side along the straight portion of the endless path. The lacing device and/or the hank remover may be of a stationary type and, instead, the reeling units may be of such a construction that the cradle 11 is pivotable toward the devices LD and HR for the finished hank thereon to be acted on by the devices. The drive rollers DR may be replaced by a motor mounted on each reeling unit, with means for supplying electricity to the motor on each unit as it circulates along the endless path.

What We claim is: V

1. An automatic reeling machine, comprising: a plurality of reeling units each having a reel for a single hank to be wound thereon; means for defining an endless path; means for circulating said reeling units along said endless path; means for rotating said reel on each said reeling unit, thereby winding thread on said reel to form a hank; and means disposed adjacent said endless path for lacing said banks on said reeling units.

2. The reeling machine of claim 1, further including means disposed adjacent said endless path for remoying the laced hanks from said reels.

3. The reeling machine of claim 2, wherein said endless path defining means comprises endless guide rail means.

4. The reeling machine of claim 3, wherein said reel rotating means comprises at least one elongated drive roller disposed along the straight portion of said endless guide rail means.

5. The reeling machine of claim 4, wherein each said reeling unit comprises a body, a cradle mounted on said body, a reel rotatably supported by said cradle, roller means mounted on said body for rotationally contacting said endless guide rail means for said body to be slidably supported thereby, a roller mounted on said body so as to be brought into frictional contact with said elongated drive roller to be rotated thereby, and belt and pulley means mounted on said cradle for drive connection of said last-mentioned roller and said reel. I

6. The reeling machine of claim 1, wherein said circulating means comprises an elongated, flexible endless member connecting said plurality of reeling units spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other.

7. The reeling machine of claim 3, wherein each said reeling unit comprises a body, a cradle, a reel rotatably supported by said cradle, roller means mounted on said body for rotationally contacting said endless guide rail means for said body to be slidably supported thereby, and means mounted on said body for rotating said reel.

8. The reeling machine of claim 5, wherein said cradle is selectively movable toward and away from said lacing 5, means and removing means so that the hank that has been completely wound on each said reeling unit is acted on by said lacing means and removing means.

9. The reeling machine of claim 7, wherein said cradle is selectively movable toward and away from said lacing means and removing means so that the hank that has been completely wound on each said reeling unit is acted on by said lacing means and removing means.

10. The reeling machine of claim 1, wherein said lacing.

means is movable along said endless path in opposite directions and also toward and away from said path.

11. The reeling machine of claim 2, wherein said re- 6 moving means includes means for selectively positioning in the path of said reel as each said unit circulates so as to hook the laced hank oil the reel of each said reeling unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 663,925 12/1900 Nordman. 2821 916,690 3/1909 Feren bach 28-21 3,323,189 6/1967 Hayashi 2821 LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner.