US3570232A

US3570232A - Method and apparatus for forming rings of threads

Info

Publication number: US3570232A
Application number: US802114A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernst Erb
Original assignee: Superba SAS
Current assignee: Superba SAS
Priority date: 1968-02-27
Filing date: 1969-02-25
Publication date: 1971-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 1988-03-16
Also published as: DE1909738B2; FR2002708A1; BE729065A; ES364053A1; GB1231163A; DE1909738A1; DE1909738C3

Abstract

SINGLE THREADS ARE DRAWN OFF A SUPPLY, CONVEYED THROUGH THREAD-BREAK STOP MOTIONS AND COMBINED IN A ROPE WHICH IS PASSED THROUGH THE AXIS OF A REVOLVING GUIDE ARM TO FEED THE ROPE INTO GAPS BETWEEN CONSECUTIVE TEETH ON THE DESCENDING PERIPHERIES OF TOOTHED WHEELS. THE REAR PATHS OF THE THREAD RINGS FORMED IN THIS MANNER ARE CONTINUOUSLY CARRIED DOWNWARDS BY THE WHEELS AND PUSHED INTO CONTACT WITH A FORWARD TRAVELLING FRICTION BELT WHICH CONVEYS THEM UNDERNEATH TWO MEMBERS SLIDABLY PRESSING THE RINGS IN CLOSE SUCCESSION ONTO THE BELT WHICH CARRIES THEM FORWARD IN THE FORM OF LAPPED SEQUENCES OF LAYERS OF RINGS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM THICKNESS SUITABLE FOR SUBMISSION TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS.

Description

March 16, 1971 3,570,232

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING RINGS OF THREADS Filed Feb. 25, 1969 I E. ERB

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGZ \\\\\ IIIIII ll INVLN ()R E RNST E RB WM AGENT E. ERB

March 16, 1971 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING RINGS OF THREADS Filed Feb. 25, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENI'OR. ERNST ERB AGENT United States Patent Oflice 3,570,232 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING RINGS F THREADS Ernst Erb, Basel, Switzerland, assignor to Etablissements Superba SA, Mulliouse, France Filed Feb. 25, 1969, Ser. No. 802,114 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Feb. 27, 1968, 2,806/ 68 Int. Cl. B65h 54/82 US. Cl. 57-1 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Single threads are drawn off a supply, conveyed through thread-break stop motions and combined in a rope which is passed through the axis of a revolving guide arm to feed the rope into gaps between consecutive teeth on the descending peripheries of toothed wheels. The rear parts of the thread rings formed in this manner are continuously carried downwards by the wheels and pushed into contact with a forward travelling friction belt which conveys them underneath two members slidably pressing the rings in close succession onto the belt which carries them forward in the form of lapped sequences of layers of rings of substantially uniform thickness suitable for submission to conventional treatments.

The present invention relates to a method of forming threads into rings and of depositing the rings in overlapped sequence to form layers of rings of substantially uniform thickness that are suitable for submission to a subsequent treatment, such as drying, steaming, damping and so forth.

The principal object of the proposed method is the production of an absolutely loose and uniform thin layer of rings without kinks to permit the treating agents to penetrate rapidly and the treatment to be performed at maximum conveying speeds. For maximum economy in performing the contemplated treatments it is proposed to combine a plurality of individual parallel threads and to deposit the same in the form of a rope forming layers of rings. In the case of very coarse yarns the layers of rings may also be formed from single threads.

In such a process it is of considerable importance to ensure that the threads are not deposited in narrow loops but rather in the form of rings that are as uniform and even as possible. If the rings are not deposited in arcs having fairly large radii but in kinked curves, undesirable permanent deformation remain after fixation. Moreover, it is also intended that the individual rings should be deposited on a support in as even distribution as possible to permit hot air for drying to pass evenly through the rings and to absorb a maximum amount of moisture.

For forming a layer of rings consisting of a plurality of threads it is essential to insert into the performed rope of threads a twist of one turn per ring about the rope axis so that during axial withdrawal of the rings after treatment the ropes will exactly untwist and parallelism between the individual threads will be restored to permit the threads to be easily reseparated and wound on separate bobbins.

According to the invention all these requirements which a satisfactory deposition of thread rings should fulfill are satisfied by drawing a desired number of single threads off a supply, conveying them through threadbreak stop motions and then combining them in a rope which for the purpose of inserting a single turn twist into each ring is passed through the axis of a revolving thread guide arm which feeds the rope into the gaps between consecutive teeth on the descending peripheries of rotating toothed wheels, the rear parts of the thread rings which are thus continuously carried downwards by said wheels being finally pushed down at the rear end of the arrangement by a roller or sliding shoes into con tact with a forward travelling friction belt and thus conveying underneath at least two slipper members slidably pressing the rings in close succession onto the friction belt which by virtue of its higher friction positively carries them forward in the form of a lapped sequence of layered rings which at the delivery end of the belt are transferred over the return roller upside-down to a heat-resistant conveyor belt underneath the friction belt, upon which the rings are continuously conveyed through the treating chamber.

The thickness of the layers of rings can be varied either by varying the speed of the ring-depositing as sembly or the r.p.m.s of the thread guide in relation to the speed of travel of the friction belt, or conversely.

The apparatus for performing this method is characterised by a thread-ring-forming and conveying unit comprising at least two pairs of contrarotating toothed wheels, a thread guide arm mounted above the pairs of toothed wheels to perform a rotary movement about the pairs of toothed wheels, compensating guides disposed alongside and between the pairs of toothed wheels for the reception of, and for then guiding the thread rings deposited by the thread guide arm during its rotation between the teeth of the wheels, drive means for driving the shafts of the toothed wheels in functional dependence upon the rotation of the thread guide arm to present a fresh gap between consecutive teeth to the feeding end of the thread guide arm, further a continuously driven friction belt disposed below said toothed wheels and a guide element above said belt in the thread-depositing range of the rear end pair of toothed wheels, which guide element accepts the rear portions of each thread ring from the rear end pair of toothed wheels and for the purpose of continuously depositing the same transfers them consecutively under at least two slipper members which slidably bear on the conveyor belt, the coefiicient of friction between the rings and the slipper members beingless than that between the thread rings and the friction belt.

This novel method of depositing yarn permits any thread material, whether damp or very smooth, to be deposited in the form of a loose but precisely laid layer of rings because the rings of thread are positively formed and the employment of a supplementary guide element in the thread depositing range of the rear end pair of toothed wheels ensures an absolutely positive transfer of the thread rings in a manner eliminating the possibility of several rings being retained and accumulating as a result of excessive adhesion, electrostatic effects and the like.

A11 embodiment of apparatus for performing the pro posed method is illustratively shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus,

FIG. 2 is a view in plan seen from the plane marked II in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a rear end view of the apparatus, and

FIG. '4 is a larger scale fragmentary representation of part of the front toothed wheel.

With reference to FIG. 1 there is provided a shaft 1 which is mounted in a bearing plate 1a and carries a thread guide arm 2 balanced by a counterweight. Below this thread guide a chassis 3 on the end of said shaft carries a thread-ring-forming and conveying unit generally indicated by reference numeral 20. This unit comprises four toothed wheels 4, their shafts 5, a worm wheel 6, a driving worm 7 and a number of compensating guides -8, 9 and 10.

The threads 17 are drawn off a supply and first pass through yarn-break stop motions, not shown, before axially entering the end of the shaft 1 to be carried around by the revolving thread guide arm 2 from which they issue through a terminal guide ll. In the course of each complete revolution of the thread guide arm 11, a thread ring is formed about the depositing mechanism of the unit 20. The rope of threads 17 enters the gaps 4b between the teeth on the outer descending circumference of the toothed wheels 4 and also embraces the

compensating guides

8 and 10 which are provided between and alongside the toothed wheels 4 (cf. FIGS. 2 and 3). Whilst the thread guide arm 11 rotates, the four toothed wheels 4 are so driven by a worm 7 which is fast on the shaft 1 and by wormwheels 6 that the thread rings are continuously lowered, descending by the pitch of one tooth in the course of each full revolution of the thread guide arm (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). The rear ends of the thread rings eventually descend to a roller 12 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which is disposed between the rear end toothed wheels 4. The roller which is frictionally driven by a forwardly travelling friction belt 18 presses the rings down on the belt. The rotation of the roller 12 completes the descent of the rear parts of the rings, carrying them into contact with the friction belt 18 and thereby conveying one thread ring after another under two slipper members 9 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The function performed by the supplementary roller 12 must not be underestimated. In its absence a positive transportation of the thread rings and the avoidance of accumulations of thread rings would be impossible. Experience has shown that an accumulation of several thread rings leads to non-uniform depositing in a manner that is very objectionable during subsequent treating processes. Preferably the roller 12 is made of an elastic material, such as rubber, to ensure uniform and reliable entrainment of the rings. Moreover, the peripheral surface of the roller may be milled to improve the adhesion of the thread rings.

The roller l12 could be replaced by a smooth sliding shoe which would similarly operate to convey the rear parts of the thread rings under the slipper bars 9.

The slipper bars 9 keep the rear parts of the thread rings 17 in contact with the friction belt 18 so that the latter carries the rings forward until they are completely clear of the ring-forming unit. The leading portions of the thread rings are conveyed forward in synchronism with the rear parts when these are suddenly entrained by the belt 18. They are thus conveyed on the friction belt 18 in a continuous stream of overlapped rings. By varying the speed of the friction belt in relation to the r.p.m.s of the thread guide the number of layers of rings in the stream can be adjusted.

The desired continued transportation of the thread rings deposited on the belt 18 relies upon the coefiicient of friction between the thread rings and slipper members 9 being less than that between the rings and the friction belt 18. The undersides of the slipper members are usually polished quite smooth so that they merely operate to push the rings down Without applying a significant braking force to the rings.

Since the chassis of the entire ring-forming and depositing unit is rotatable about the journalled end of the shaft 1 special retaining blades are adapted to engage peripheral grooves 4c (FIG. 4) in the front end wheels 4 below the feed line of the rotating thread guide for the purpose of keeping the unit stationary. The blades 15 are attached to brackets 16 (FIG. 1) which are firmly secured to the bearing plate out of the range of operation of the thread guide. In view of the length of these blades the thread guide 11 is arranged to insert the rope of filaments into the wheels 4 at a point which is well above the level of the wheel centres. In order to prevent the thread rings from being pulled excessively taut as they descend across the wheel centre line where the lateral projection of the wheels is a maximum, compensating guide means 8 are provided alongside the wheels 4 and further compensating guide means 10 are located between each pair of wheels. The contours of these guide means which have well rounded configurations function to keep the tension of the threads constant. Owing to their concave configuration they lengthen the circumference of the freshly laid thread ring between the wheels and then reduce it as the ring travels over the centre line of the wheels 4. Thereafter they again lengthen this part of the circumference of the ring to keep the rings gently taut so they are lowered by the teeth of the wheels 4 and transferred safely to the roller 12 and then to the friction belt 18.

FIG. 4 shows a portion of the teeth of a wheel 4 on a larger scale. It will be understood from this drawing the the bottom of the groove 4c for the retaining blades is well above the bottom of the valleys between the teeth for the reception of the rings. This prevents the thread rings from being jammed. The leading parts of the thread rings are carried downwards well below the edges of the blades 15 until they are clear when they are deposited more or less closely in overlapped layers depending upon the speed of travel of the friction belt.

Since the endless friction belt 18 is not heat-resistant the layers of rings are carried down over the forward return roller of the belt and deposited upside down on a contra-directionally travelling heat-resistant and airpermeable belt underneath. For the sake of simplicity this latter belt is not shown in the drawings.

The formation of rings and their deposition in overlapped layers may again be described in detail: The filaments which enter through the hollow interior of the shaft 1 are wound around the toothed wheels 4 and the compensating

guides

8 and 10 by the continuously rotating thread guide 11. Each revolution of the thread guide arm 2 forms one complete ring which is continuously lowered by the pitch of one tooth in the course of each revolution. Since the filaments 17 enter the shaft 1 axially, whereas they are radially deposited on the belt, an axial twist of one turn is inserted into each ring, which i subsequently untwisted again when the thread is axially withdrawn. This is important when a plurality of threads are combined to form a rope. At the same time the twist operates to keep the threads in the lapped layers of rings in a well ordered arrangement. Moreover, after the treatment the withdrawal of the thread rings is facilitated Axial withdrawal removes this intentionally inserted twist and it is then easy to reseparate the individual threads and to wind them on separate take-up bobbins.

Since preferably the thread rings are not carried completely down to the friction belt by the teeth of the toothed wheels, the above-mentioned roller 12 is provided between the two rear wheels 4. This roller is driven by the forwardly travelling friction belt as shown by the arrow. The roller transfers the rear portions of consecutive rings 17 into contact with the surface of the friction belt 18 and thus positively carries them under the two slipper bars 9 well clear of the wheels 4. In this stage the slipper bars keep each thread ring in firm contact with the friction belt 18, so that the latter can convey the thread rings forward.

The front portions of the descending thread rings are automatically disengaged from the teeth of the feed wheels by the compensating

guides

8 and 10 and they are then deposited in layers having an overlap determined by the speed of the friction belt which conveys them away. As already mentioned the friction belt is an endless short belt which runs over two correspondingly spaced return rollers (not shown). Since this friction belt is not heatresistant the lapped thread ring layers are carried downwards over the front return roller and are deposited upside-down on a contradirectionally travelling heat-resistant conveyor belt underneath which conveys them through the treating chamber.

What I claim is:

1. A method of forming threads into rings and depositing the rings in overlapped sequence to form layers of rings of substantially uniform thickness suitable for submission to a subsequent treatment, such as drying, steaming or damping wherein a desired number of single threads are drawn off a supply, conveyed through thread-break stop motions and combined in a rope which for the purpose of inserting a .single turn twist into each ring is passed through the axis of a revolving thread guide arm which feeds the rope into the gaps between consecutive teeth on the descending peripheries of toothed wheels, the rear parts of the thread rings which are thus continuously carried downwards by said wheels being finally pushed down into contact with a forward travelling friction belt and thus conveyed underneath at least two members slidably pressing the rings in close succession onto the friction belt which by virtue of its higher friction positively carries them forward in the form of a lapped sequence of layered rings.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at the delivery end of the belt the lapped sequence a rings is transferred to and deposited upsidedown on a heatresistant conveyor belt underneath the friction belt, upon which conveyor belt the rings are continuously conveyed through the treating chamber.

3. Apparatus for forming a lapped sequence of layered rings including a thread-ring-forming and conveying unit comprising at least two pairs of contra-rotating toothed wheels, a thread guide arm mounted above the pairs of toothed wheels to perform a rotary movement about the pairs of toothed wheels, compensating guides disposed alongside and between the pairs of toothed wheels for the reception of and for then guiding the thread rings deposited by the thread guide arm during its rotation between the teeth of the wheels, drive means for driving the shafts of the toothed wheels in functional dependence upon the rotation of the thread guide arm to present a fresh gap between consecutive teeth to the feeding end of the thread guide arm, a continuously driven friction belt disposed below said toothed wheels and a guide element above said belt in the thread depositing range of the rear pair of toothed wheels, which guide element accepts the rear portions of each thread ring from the rear pair of toothed wheels and, for the purpose of continuously depositing the same, transfers them consecutively under at least two slipper members which slidably bear on the conveyor belt, the coefiicient of friction between the rings and the slipper members being less than that between the thread rings and the friction belt.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the drive means comprise a driven worm which transmits torque to the toothed wheels through worm wheels.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the guide element is a roller disposed between the rear pair of toothed wheels and bearing on the friction belt in frictional driving contact therewith.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the roller has a milled circumferential surface.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterised in that the roller or at least its surface, consists of an elastic material, such as rubber.

8. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the guide element is a rigid sliding guide shoe of which the bottom end extends at least as far as between the ends of the slipper members and which thus ensures a positive forwarding action of the belt on the thread rings.

9. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which stationary retaining blades are attached by a bracket to a bearing plate of a thread guide shaft and engage peripheral grooves in at least one of the wheels to prevent the conveying apparatus from rotating.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, in which the gaps between consecutive teeth of the front end wheels are more deeply cut into the wheels than the peripheral grooves thereby to prevent the threads from being jammed by the retaining blades.

11. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which a heatresistant contradirectionally travelling conveyor belt is provided below the friction belt for accepting the layer of thread rings from the friction belt and conveying the same through a treating chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,882,673 4/1959 Buddecke 28-21X 3,389,868 6/1968 Majkrzak 2821X 3,430,312 3/1969 Drummond 2821X JOHN PETRAKES, Primary Examiner Us. 01. X.R.