US3433433A - Clamping device for bobbins and the like - Google Patents

Description

March 18, 1969 F. Pos i|L ET CLAMPING DEVICE FOR BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 1, 1966 hzvd {1 M I IN VEN TOR.6

1417M A H Unite 3,433,433 CLAMPING DEVICE FOR BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Frantisek Pospisil, Usti nad Orlici, and Jii-i Elias, Brandys nad Orlici, Czechoslovakia, assignors to Vyzkumny Ustav Bavlnarsky, Usti nad Orlici, Czechoslovakia Filed Dec. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 598,356 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, Dec. 1, 1965,

7,189/ 65 US. Cl. 242-12951 Int. Cl. B65h 49/00, 19/00, 17/02 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cross-references to related applications An automatic bobbin changing device in which the clamping device herein disclosed may be utilized, is disclosed in our copending application entitled Bobbin Changing Device, filed on Dec. 1, 1966 under Ser. No. 598,259.

Background of the invention The invention relates to clamping devices in general, and more particularly to clamping devices for supporting bobbins in textile machines.

It is well known that yarn is wound, usually immediately after its manufacture, upon bobbins preparatory to utilization in the textile-manufacturing industry. Yarn manufacturing machines are highly automated and operate at great speed and with considerable output. Heretofore, however, the bobbin holding devices into which an empty bobbin tube is clamped so that yarn may be wound thereon have made it very difficult to attain a similar high speed for the winding of bobbins. The reason for this has been that, although yarn can be wound onto empty bobbin tubes at considerable speed, the ejection or removal of the fully wound bobbin from the bobbin holder and the introduction of a new and empty bobbin tube into the bobbin holder have been relatively slow so that much of the time gained by speeding up the actual winding process is lost by the exchange of a full bobbin for an empty bobbin tube. In particular, prior-art bobbin mounting devices have been of such type as to preclude the automatic substitution of empty bobbin tubes for fully wound bobbins. Obviously, automation and the resulting output increase in yarn manufacturing apparatus is of little value if the yarn produced cannot be further processed by winding onto bobbin tubes with similar efiiciency in the next following manufacturing step.

Furthermore, known prior-art devices require relatively large amounts of space since the arms holding the bobbin tubes must be rotated or otherwise moved relative to one another.

Summary of the invention Having the above comments in mind it is a general object of the present invention to provide a clamping device, particularly for supporting bobbins in a textile machine, which is not subject to the disadvantages outlined earlier.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide States Patent 3,433,433 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 such a clamping device which is well suited for the utilization of automation in the substitution of empty bobbin tubes for fully wound bobbins.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a clamping device which requires relatively little space.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a clamping device of the type outlined above which is simple to construct, and therefore inexpensive.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a clamping device as set forth which is highly reliable in its operation.

In accordance with these and other objects of the invention our novel clamping device, which is particularly suited for supporting bobbins in a textile machine, comprises a support structure which defines a gap, and projecting means which is carried by the support structure. The projecting means in turn comprises two projecting elements which are mounted at opposite sides of the gap and at least one of these elements is movable transversely of the gap between a first and second position in which it is spaced from the other element by a lesser and a greater distance, respectively. The clamping device in accordance with the invention further comprises biasing means operatively connected with the aforementioned one projecting element :for the purpose of permanently biasing this one projecting element to the first position thereof. Thus, a tubular bobbin-core member whose axial length exceeds the lesser distance between the two projecting elements, can be releasably secured to the support structure by being inserted into the gap transversely of the direction of movement of the one projecting element, causing the same to be temporarily deflected to the second position thereof.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the novel clamping device in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional detail view of an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the preferred embodiments Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly FIG. 1 thereof, it will be seen that on a base 1, which may be part of the frame of a textile machine, there are provided two elongated arms 4. The arms 4 are rigidly connected to one another by a traverse member 6 so that they are not movable relative to one another. However, they are movable with reference to the support 1 and for this purpose one end of each arm 4 is turnably secured to a support element 2 so that the arms 4 are swingable about an axis 3 extending through these support elements 2.

The opposite ends of the arms 4 are arranged to engage a bobbin 7 which is to be supported between these arms and it will be evident that the spacing of the arms 4 by the traverse member 6 is dictated by the axial length of the bobbins 7 which are to be clamped between the arms.

Turning now to FIG. 2 it will firstly be noted that the bobbins 7 consist of a yarn package and a bobbin tube 20 onto which the yarn package is wound, for instance by means of cross-winding as indicated in FIG. 2. It is the tubes 20 which are to be supplied in empty condition to the novel clamping device so as to be secured thereto, and the fully wound bobbin is subsequently to be removed from the clamping device.

FIG. 2 shows that the free ends of the arms 4 each comprise an inwardly extending pivot portion '8. These pivot portions extend in the direction toward one another, as is clearly evident from FIG. 2. A bearing 9 surrounds and is supported by each of the pivot portions 8, and in turn each of the bearings 9 supports a disc-like inner collar 10 which is rotatable with the respective bearing 9. It is evident from FIG. 2 that the collars 10 are provided with an edge face which tapers in the direction away from the gap defined between the free ends of the arms 4, that is in the direction towards the associated arm 4. This edge face is identified with reference numeral 11. It will be further noted that the collars 10 are radially recessed axially inwardly of the edge faces 11 to provide an annular wall 12 of smaller overall diameter than the diameter of the collar 10 measured across the edge faces 11.

The wall 12 supports an annular base member or abut ment collar 13 which may be secured to the collar 10 by means of a friction fit or in another suitable manner. Obviously, the abutment collar 13 is rotatable with the collar 10 on the bearing 9. The abutment collar 13 itself has secured thereto an outer collar 14, for instance by establishing a friction fit between the cylindrical outer wall portion of the collar 13 and the cylindrical wall portion of the outer collar 14. The collar 14 has a second wall portion which tapers conically in the direction towards the gap defined between the respective arms 4 and which thus forms with the tapering edge face 11 of the collar '10 and with the abutment collar 13 a channel-shaped annular space 16 which is open on the side facing the gap between the arms 4 and which conically tapers in the direction towards this open side.

An annular carrier 17 is received in this space 16 audit will be seen that the carrier 17 has a cross-section corresponding to the frustum of a cone. Inasmuch as the base of the cone is wider than the open side of the space 16, that is the opening defined between the wall portion 15 of collar 14 and the edge face 11 of collar 10, only a part of the annular carrier 17 can extend outwardly through this opening and partly cross the gap defined between the two arms 4. A suitable biasing means, such as a spring 18, is inserted into the space 16 and bears against the collar 13 on the one hand and against the interior surface of the annular carrier 17 on the other hand to thereby urge the carrier 17 to its outermost position in which it extends partially across the gap between the arms 4.

It will be evident that the entire assembly consisting of the elements 9, 10, 13, '14 and 17 is rotatable about the pivot portion 8.

It will also be evident how the novel clamping device operates when a fresh bobbin core tube 20 is to be secured thereto, or when a fully wound bobbin 7 is to be removed therefrom. In FIG. 2 a bobbin 7 including a bobbin-core tube 20 is shown secured to the clamping device and it will be evident that, when this is to be removed, it is simply necessary to exert pressure on the bobbin 7 in the direction transversely of the gap, that is transversely of the movement of the carriers 17. These carriers 17 which extend into the open ends of the tube 20 or, if desired, into recesses provided in the end walls of a solid member corresponding to the tube 20, are deflected inwardly into the respective spaces 16 when such pressure is exerted on the bobbin 7 so that the same can be simply and reliably removed from the novel clamping device. Once the bobbin 7 is moved, the carriers 17 will snap back into their extended position and the device will be ready to accept a new bobbin-core tube 20. This can be simply inserted by a reverse process in which the tube is placed adajacent to the gap and is inserted transversely of the gap by pushing it against the carriers 17 which will yield until the tube is properly inserted into the gap existing between the arms 4 at which point it will be centered by the return of the carrier 17 to their extended position and will be firmly held for rotation and in preparation for the application of yarn thereon.

The embodiment illustrated in the drawing, and particularly in FIG. 2, shows both carriers 17 to be biased outwardly for movement between an extended and a withdrawn position. Actually, this is not necessarily the case since it would be sufiicient if one of the carriers 17 is so movable and the other one could then simply be stationary.

The novel clamping device set forth herein in an exemplary embodiment is particularly suitable, on the one hand, for applications in which minimum floor space is available and in which it is not tolerable that the arms 4 perform movements of considerable magnitude, and on the other hand lends itself admirably to the automation of the tube inserting and bobbin removing process. An automatic bobbin changing device which is well adapted for utilizing the clamping device set forth herein is disclosed in the copending application to which reference has been had in the introductory comments to this specification. Generally speaking, all that is necessary to automate the supply of empty tubes 20 and the removal of fully wound bobbins 7 with the clamping device set forth herein is a suitable arrangement which will exert pressure on the fully wound bobbins 7 in the direction transversely of the gap existing between the arms 4 and which will present empty bobbin-core tubes 20 in proper position and will again exert pressure so as to insert them into the novel clamping device. Such an arrangement can be stationary and the swinging movement of the arms 4 about the axis 3 can cause the bobbin 7 to bear against the arrangement so as to thereby be ejected, and in turn a further swinging movement of the arms 4 can cause the carriers 17 to bear against a suitably located and held empty bobbin-core tube 20 which will thereby be inserted into the novel clamping device. Obviously, any such general arrangement will result in simple and highly reliable automation of the bobbin changing process and will thus considerably speed this process which heretofore has always constituted a bottleneck in the high speed yarn manufacturing and winding industry.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of devices differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a clamping device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A clamping device, particularly for supporting bobbins in a textile machine, comprising a support structure defining a gap; projecting means carried by said support structure and comprising two projecting elements arranged at opposite sides of said gap; and compressible biasing means serving in compressed condition as sole support for at least one of said elements and mounting the same for frictionless movement transversely of said said gap between a first and a second position in which it is spaced from the other element by a lesser and a greater distance, respectively, said biasing means being operative for permanently biasing said one element to said first position, whereby a tubular bobbin-core member whose axial length exceeds the lesser distance between said elements, can be releasably secured to said support structure by being inserted into said gap transversely of the direction of movement of said one element, causing the same to be temporarily deflected to said second position.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said support structure comprises two parallel arms rigidly connected to one another and having respective end portions defining said gap.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said arms each have an additional end portion spaced from the respective first-mentioned end portion, and wherein said arms are jointly turnable about an axis extending through the respective additional end portions.

4. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said projecting elements each consist of an annular member carried by the respective end portions of said arms.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein each of said annular members is circumferentially complete and tapers in one axial direction so as to have a substantially frustoconical cross-sectional configuration, said annular members being coaxial with one another.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said annular members are so carried by said arms that their axial tapers face one another across said gap.

7. A clamping device, particularly for supporting bobbins in a textile machine, comprising a support structure including two parallel arms rigid with one another and having respective end portions defining a gap; projecting means carried by said support structure and comprising a pair of channel-shaped annular carriers each mounted on one of said end portions of said arms and having an open side facing said gap, and a pair of coaxial annular members each having a substantially frustoconical crosssection and being received in one of said carriers with their respective axial tapers facing one another across said gap and with the tapering portions extending outwardly through the respective open side and the bores retained within the respective carrier, at least one of said annular members being movable transversely of said gap between a first and a second position in which it is spaced from the other annular member by a lesser and a greater distance; and biasing means operatively connected with said one annular member for permanently biasing the same to said first position, whereby a tubular bobbin-core member whose axial lentgh exceeds the lesser distance between said members can be releasably secured to said support structure by being inserted into said gap transversely of the direction of movement of said one member, causing the same to be temporarily deflected to said second position.

8. A device as defined in claim 7; said biasing means comprising spring means located within the respective carrier and biasing the associated annular member in outward direction.

9. A device as defined in claim 7, wherein said carriers each include a radially outer annular peripheral member, an inner circular member coaxial with said inner member and defining therewith an annular channel whose cross-section diverges inwardly of said open side, and an annular base member secured to said annular peripheral member and said inner circular member opposite said open side and constituting a bottom wall of said channel.

10. A device as defined in claim 9, wherein said annular peripheral member has a tubular first wall portion and a radially inwardly tapering second wall portion facing said gap.

977,764 12/1964 Great Britain. 998,640 1/1952 France.

r LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 242-55.2, 55.53, 68.4

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