US3582012A - Ring tensioner - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for imparting tension to a moving line of textile material consists of a rectangular body having a guide eye at either end to guide the textile material longitudinally through the body. A plurality of rings are disposed in spaced relation longitudinally within the body. The rings are designed to hang on the textile material passing through the body and thereby impart tension to it. Means are provided for adjusting the position of the body in several planes. The construction of the body is likewise changed in alternate embodiments to provide a means for varying the tension on the textile material by controlling the position of the rings and their coaction with the body. In still further embodiments, elements are added to the body to engage and coact with the rings to dampen their movement.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor John Cocker, 111

Box 235, Clover, S.C. 28057 [2]] Appl. No. 839,833 [22] Filed July 8, 1969 [45] Patented June I, 1971 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 751,605, Aug. 6, 1968, now abandoned and a continuation-in-part of 798,059, Feb. 10, 1969, now abandoned.

[54] RING TENSIONER 15 Claims, 16 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 242/153, 242/154 [51] lnt. Cl B65l1 59/26 [50] Field otSearch 242/153, 154, 147

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,508,503 9/1924 Brown et al 242/153X 2,618,445 11/1952 Buder 242/154 2,790,611 4/1957 Massey 242/154 2,942,803 6/1960 Baumgardner 242/153 Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath AttorneyPaul & Paul ABSTRACT: A device for imparting tension to a moving line of textile material consists of a rectangular body having a guide eye at either end to guide the textile material longitudinally through the body. A plurality of rings are disposed in spaced relation longitudinally within the body. The rings are designed to hang on the textile material passing through the body and thereby impart tension to it. Means are provided for adjusting the position of the body in several planes. The construction of the body is likewise changed in alternate embodiments to provide a means for varying the tension on the textile material by controlling the position of the rings and their coaction with the body. In still further embodiments, elements are added to the body to engage and coact with the rings to dampen their movement.

PATENTE'UJUN H971 3582.012

' SHEEIEUFS x. 225 23o l V INVENTOR. 229 John Cooker III Wv M ATTORNEYS.

PATEN'TED JUN 1 IHYI SHEET 3 OF 5 ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEU JUN Han 3582012 SHEET 0F 5 Fig. 12

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INVENTOR. John Cocker 11L BYMfw/Z/ ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEDJUN usn $582,012

' SHEU 5 OF 5 INVENTOR. John Cooker 111 Y M-PM ATTORNEYS RING TENSIONER:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND OF THE- INVENTION This invention relates to a tensioner for a running strand of yarn or the like, and more particularly to tensioner of the type sioner. Because 7. of the many variables encountered in processing different types of textile material at different speeds, it is desirableto have some means of adjusting-the tension imparted to the material by the rings. Indeed, in actual operation the rings sometimes tend to jump and to rotate so violently that. as a practical matter tension in the textile material is not controlled at all.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a ring tensioner which does provide reliable and effective control under a variety of operating conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have provided an improved ring tensioner comprising a body having sidewalls including opposed slots for guiding a plurality of rings and variousmeans for affecting the tension imparted to the material by the rings, such. as, positioning the body to coact with the rings, and changing the position of the body by pivoting its axially and/or transversely. In alternate embodiments, the walls and/or other parts of the body, and/or additional elements provide a damping effect on the rings.

Accordingly, another object of this invention is to provide an effective means'for controlling-the movement of the rings in a ring tensioner and thereby to adjust the tension in the textile material being processed, within acceptable limits.

Another objectof this invention is to provide a means for aiding in the threading of the tensioner- Another object is to provide a means for guiding the rings during the operation of the device.

These and otherobjects of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view of a ring tensioner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of the device shown in FIG. I taken as indicated by the lines and arrowsll-Il;

FIG. 3 is a view takenas'indicated by the lines'and arrows III-III in FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a view similar-to FIG. 3 showing a modified form of the device;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a further modification;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a further alternate embodiment of my invention with the ring retaining means in the inverted position? FIG. 7 is a plan view of a further alternate embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 8 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view taken as indicated by the linesand arrows lX-IX in FIG. 7, 'with an alternate position 'shown in phantom;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a further alternate embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 11 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows XI-XI in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing a further alternate embodiment of my invention;

FIG. I3 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows XIIlXIII in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to the broken away portion of FIG. 12 shown in section, showing an alternate embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a further alternate embodiment of my invention; and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although specific forms of the invention have been selected for illustration in the drawings, and the following description is drawn in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention, this description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. I, the ring tensioner in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a body designated generally 20 which is adjustably mounted on any suitable support means 2ll by means ofa bracket 22 and a setscrew 23. The body 20 is supported by the flange 24 of the bracket 22 in any suitable fashion, such as by machine screws 25. The body is preferably made of plastic or similar lightweight hard material. It includes a plurality of slots 26 each of which contains one ofa plurality of rings 27. The rings are ceramic or other suitable material well known in the art and are preferably circular in both cross section and overall configuration. In addition, a plurality of spacer bars 28 can be provided as shown. It should be understood that the number of rings in a set or the number of sets in a particular tensioner can be varied within the scope of this invention without departing from the true spirit thereof. Accordingly, I shall describe in detail a tensioner having only one set of eight rings.

These rings are disposed in the tensioner so as to be relatively free floating; that is, while they are at times in contact with or engaged with other parts of the device or the material passing therethrough, they are not fixedly connected to any part of the device. The rings, however, are spaced from one another, and are confined to move only within the space laterally bounded by the slots 26. They are vertically controlled by the laterally extending retainer car 30 which is conveniently formed of a thin, lightweight strip of metal and extends through the body 20 passing through the planes of the rings. The retainer car 30 in this embodiment is preferably fixedly mounted in the end walls 31 and 32 of the body 20. The function of the retainer car 30 is to provide a means for retaining the rings should the thread line 40 break or run out.

Each end wall 31, 32 supports a thread guide or eye 33 and 34 respectively, which is preferably made of a ceramic material, but can be made of any suitable material as is well known in the art, for guiding the textile material whether it be threaded, yarn, cord, or the like through the tensioner. Additional similar thread guides, 35 and 36 are mounted on flanges connected to the bracket 22 and preferably disposed at acute angles to the direction of travel of the textile material through the ring portion of the tensioner. The guide 35 can be conveniently referred to as the balloon breaker eye since it is associated with a relatively large, preferably circular, plastic disc 38, known in the art as a balloon breaker, which is fixedly attached to the flange 37 of the bracket 22 for the purpose of controlling and guiding the textile material as is well known in the art.

The textile material 40 is threaded through the device in the direction of the arrows, so that it passes through the rings. To

make it easy to accomplish this step, I have provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a body 20 having end walls 31 and 32 supported in additional flanges 41 and 42 respectively which extend upwardly from the bracket 22 (not shown). The guide eyes 133 and 134 are extended to pass through the flanges 41 and 42 respectively. In this embodiment the guide eyes must receive an external thread. Therefore it may be necessary to change the material from ceramic to metallic or similar material, but it will be understood that this is only one means of accomplishing the desired result and is included here for illustrative purposes only. The threaded guide eyes receive wingnuts 135 and 136 which can be readily tightened or loosened manually. When the wingnuts are loosened the body 20 can be revolved about the guide eyes 133 and 134 approximately 180 from the position shown in FIG. 2. Of course, the flange 24 shown in FIG. 1 is eliminated in this embodiment to allow the body to be rotated. Furthermore, the body 20 is raised above the level ofthe bracket 22 so that it can rotate and clear the base of the bracket.

When the body is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 6 the rings rest on the retainer car 30. As is clear from the FIG. it is then possible to thread the textile material through the guide eyes and the rings without the need for handling each of the rings individually to position them for proper reception of the textile material. As shown the rings are in an arrested position slightly eccentric to the guide eyes 133 and 134.

In order to bring the rings into engagement with the textile material, the body 20 is again rotated 180 to a position similar to that shown in FIG. 2 wherein the rings are engaged with and hung by gravity from the textile material 40. In such position, the rings exert a force transverse to the direction of travel of the textile material through the tensioner, and thereby impart a tension to the textile material. Should the material break or run out, the rings would drop onto the retainer car 30 as shown in phantom in FIG. 3. Once in the position shown in FIG. 2 the wingnuts are tightened to once again maintain the position of the body 20 with respect to the bracket 22.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, I shall now describe an alternate embodiment of my invention wherein means are provided for adjustably positioning (tilting) the body 20 about a transverse axis. In the FIGS. the flanges 225, 226 extend upwardly from the base 227 which can be part of the bracket 22 or can be mounted thereon. The flanges support an overall boxlike frame 228 by means of studs 229 and wingnuts 230. The studs pass through clearance holes in the sidewalls of the frame 228 so that when the wingnuts 230 are loosened, the frame 228 can be pivoted about the coincident axes of the studs 229.

When this embodiment includes the rotation means shown in FIG. 6 at the end walls of the body 20, there is provided thereby a gimballike means for adjustably pivoting the body in two planes normal to one another. See FIG. 7. Such adjustment provides a degree of control of the movement of the rings within the body 20. As the body 20 is pivoted about its longitudinal axis as shown by the phantom positions in FIG. 8, the rings tend to lay against the bottom of the slots in one sidewall or the other-whichever is lowermostthereby encountering friction with the walls. Similarly when the body 20 is pivoted about its transverse axis (as shown in phantom in FIG. 9) the rings are urged by gravity toward and against the lowermost sides of the slots; once again encountering frictional resistance to movement. A change in material in either the rings or the body or both could increase this frictional drag on the rings. For example, the body could be made of hard rubber. To an extent then, tilting adjustment of the body controls, changes and/or effects the tension imparted to the textile material by the rings. In the prior art, under certain conditions in the absence of such tilting adjustment, the jumping and rotating of the rings was so violent that, as a practical matter, tension in the textile material was not controlled at all. Accordingly, this added degree of control is very advantageous. The frictional load can be increased or decreased depending on the angle to which the body is rotated.

Tilting the body so that the rings lay against the sides of the slots, as shown in FIG. 9, tends to inhibit the movement of the rings. The rings can be made to lay against the sides of the slots with the body in its normal horizontal position by provid ing slots in the body at an angle to the horizontal as shown in FIGS. and I6. In the elevation shown in FIG. 15 the plurality of slots are disposed at an angle in the body designated generally 520 so that the plurality of rings engage the downstream sides of the slots while they impart a tension to the line of textile material moving in a horizontal path in the direction indicated by the arrow. The body 520 is supported at one end only by a bronze bushing 533 passing through the end wall thereof and the upwardly extending flange S41 and in threaded engagement with a nut 535. Once again a ceramic eyelet 522, 524 is provided at either end to guide the textile material through the device. Just as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the body 520 can be rotated about the axis of the bushing 533 to a plurality of positions such as those shown in phantom FIG. 8. This embodiment provides a variety of dampening effects wherein frictional forces are applied to the rings as the coact with the sides and bottoms of the slots.

In the remaining FIGS. I have provided various other means for affecting the freedom of travel of the rings in the restraining slots in the tensioner, which means involve exerting a drag or force to dampen the motion of the rings. In the configuration shown in FIG. 4 the sidewalls of the body 20 curve inwardly at both the tops and bottoms of the slots. These walls prevent full vertical travel of the rings at both the upper and lower ends of the slots (as shown by the phantom positions of the rings), and thus the movement of the rings is limited or damped. There is no need for a retainer car 30 such as shown in FIG. 3, since the rings cannot fall out of the tensioner body in any event. To permit insertion of the rings into the slots, the body can conveniently be split horizontally or vertically into halves which can then be reassembled after insertion of the rings.

Another means for damping the motion of the rings is shown in FIG. 5 wherein the walls forming the slots have been segmented into separate portions as at 300, each of which is pivotally mounted about a pin 301 mounted in the sidewall of the body 320. The pivotal portions are preferably spring loaded as shown by the springs 302 which exert a force between the base 303 and the ends 304 of the lever portions to force the other ends inwardly against the rings. The springs are conveniently attached to the lever ends 304 to prevent disengagement when the rings drop to the retainer car 30. In order to make the forces exerted by the portions 300 on the rings adjustable, adjusting screws 305 are threaded through the base 303 and can be advanced or retracted in the base 303, thereby exerting a greater or lesser force on the springs.

Alternatively, the loading could be accomplished by lever and weight means (not shown) or magnetically, without departing from the true scope of my invention.

A still further embodiment of my invention includes means for weighting the rings and distributing the weight among the rings of the entire set. This is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 wherein dampening bar 430 is free-floating in slots 431, 432 in the end walls of the body 420. The bar is conveniently rectangular in cross section to prevent it from rotating in the narrow slots 43!, 432 and thus it is tracked in the slots for vertical movement. The ends of the bar are bent over as shown in FIG. 11 in order to retain it longitudinally within the slots 43L 432. The bar rests on the lowermost inner surfaces of the rings and exerts a downward force by gravity thereon. However, since the bar and the rings are all free-floating in the device, both tend to ride up and down as the movement and texture of the textile material dictate. The bar in this embodiment is preferably made of an extremely lightweight material and could even be made of plastic, since the forces involved in tensioning the material are small normally. It could be made of steel and could even be rubber covered if desired, and of course, its weight will vary depending on the material and dimensions of the bar, thus providing a means for varying the tension imparted to the material.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 through 14 the dampening bar 430 is round in cross section. The diameter of the bar is such that it is in sliding fit with the sides of the slots 431 and 432 FIGS. I2 and 13. The bar can be retained in the tensioner body by providing the end walls with blind slots such as the slot 431' shown in FIG. 14. In such a case it might be necessary to make the body in more than one piece and then assemble the pieces after the bar 430' has been inserted into the blind slots. Alternatively, the dampening bar 430' can be retained and weighted at one or both ends as shown in FIG. 12 by attaching weights 450, 451 to the ends thereof by any suitable means. This approach is particularly applicable for heavier denier material such as tire cord.

A further modification of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. l2 and 13 wherein a pivot rod 460 is disposed in a hole 461 which passes through the walls of the body. The rod is disposed transversely in the wall separating the rings. The rod is preferably thin and can be flexible if desired. A plurality of holes are provided so that the position of the rod can be changed or in the alternative, additional rods can be provided. The rod is positioned above the dampening bar 430 within the range of the barsexpected travel, that is within the upper limits of the travel as defined by the slots 431, 432. In this position, the rod will interfere with the upward movement of the bar and thereby further dampen the movement of the rings.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangement of part which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

It will further be understood that the Abstract of the Disclosure set forth above is intended to provide a nonlegal technical statement of the contents of the disclosure in compliance with the Rules of Practice of the United States Patent Office, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention described and claimed herein.

I claim:

ll. Apparatus for controlling tension in a running strand of textile material comprising means forming a body member, means carried by said body member in fixed position relative to said body member forming a plurality of confining zones having surfaces spaced apart from each other, a plurality of rings spaced apart from each other, each such ring being located in one of said confining zones for frictional contact with said strand, some of said surfaces of each of said zones being spaced radially outwardly of the ring within said zone to confine said ring, each ring having freedom for limited movement independently of the other rings in substantially any direction within said confining zones, and guide means for guiding said strand to and from said body member and through said confining zones in such direction that each of said rings is urged against a surface of its said confining zone and its tendency to vibrate is thereby damped while said ring is concurrently in frictional contact with said running strand.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the position of said body member about an axis which passes through the planes of the confining zones.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the position of said body member endwise in a manner to position one end higher than the other.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises guide eyes attached to said body member with capacity for pivoting said body member to a plurality of fixed positions.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for retarding the travel of the rings upwardly.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein said means comprises an elongated member passing endwise through said body member and through said rings.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein said elongated member is movable with respect to said body member and said rings.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein protruding means are provided in those portions of the sides of said body member which form said confining zones and which protrude inwardly into said confining zones in interfering relationship to the movements of said rings in said zones.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided, in the event of relaxation of tension of said strand, for stopping downward gravity movement of said rings at predetermined locations and for stopping downward gravity movement of said strand at locations that are located above said predetermined locations. I

10. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein damping means are provided continuously urging said rings downwardly against said strand.

ll 1. The apparatus defined in claim it) wherein said damping means are spring urged against an outer surface of said rings.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein said damping means comprise a weight supported by the inner surfaces of said rings.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein said weight extends through elongated openings in said body member and has capacity for limited movement up and down therein, and wherein said elongated openings are provided with limit stop means arranged to limit downward movement of said rings in the event of relaxation of tension of said strand.

M. The invention of claim 1 wherein the means carried by said body member forming a plurality of confining zones comprises a plurality of slots lying in substantially parallel planes and being spaced longitudinally in said body between said guide means, said slots being disposed at an acute angle to the path of travel which said textile material would take while passing through said apparatus.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said slots are positioned so that said rings are urged by gravity to lie against at least one side of their respected slots, said side being parallel to the plane containing the radius of said ring.

Claims (15)

1. Apparatus for controlling tension in a running strand of textile material comprising means forming a body member, means carried by said bOdy member in fixed position relative to said body member forming a plurality of confining zones having surfaces spaced apart from each other, a plurality of rings spaced apart from each other, each such ring being located in one of said confining zones for frictional contact with said strand, some of said surfaces of each of said zones being spaced radially outwardly of the ring within said zone to confine said ring, each ring having freedom for limited movement independently of the other rings in substantially any direction within said confining zones, and guide means for guiding said strand to and from said body member and through said confining zones in such direction that each of said rings is urged against a surface of its said confining zone and its tendency to vibrate is thereby damped while said ring is concurrently in frictional contact with said running strand.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the position of said body member about an axis which passes through the planes of the confining zones.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the position of said body member endwise in a manner to position one end higher than the other.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises guide eyes attached to said body member with capacity for pivoting said body member to a plurality of fixed positions.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for retarding the travel of the rings upwardly.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein said means comprises an elongated member passing endwise through said body member and through said rings.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein said elongated member is movable with respect to said body member and said rings.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein protruding means are provided in those portions of the sides of said body member which form said confining zones and which protrude inwardly into said confining zones in interfering relationship to the movements of said rings in said zones.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided, in the event of relaxation of tension of said strand, for stopping downward gravity movement of said rings at predetermined locations and for stopping downward gravity movement of said strand at locations that are located above said predetermined locations.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein damping means are provided continuously urging said rings downwardly against said strand.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein said damping means are spring urged against an outer surface of said rings.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein said damping means comprise a weight supported by the inner surfaces of said rings.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 wherein said weight extends through elongated openings in said body member and has capacity for limited movement up and down therein, and wherein said elongated openings are provided with limit stop means arranged to limit downward movement of said rings in the event of relaxation of tension of said strand.

14. The invention of claim 1 wherein the means carried by said body member forming a plurality of confining zones comprises a plurality of slots lying in substantially parallel planes and being spaced longitudinally in said body between said guide means, said slots being disposed at an acute angle to the path of travel which said textile material would take while passing through said apparatus.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said slots are positioned so that said rings are urged by gravity to lie against at least one side of their respected slots, said side being parallel to the plane containing the radius of said ring.

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