US3678672A

US3678672A - Quill or bobbin spinning and winding frame with semi-automatic doffing and donning

Info

Publication number: US3678672A
Application number: US111463A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles David Brissey; Marvin Nathaniel Trotter
Original assignee: JP Stevens and Co Inc
Current assignee: JP Stevens and Co Inc
Priority date: 1971-02-01
Filing date: 1971-02-01
Publication date: 1972-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-25
Also published as: FR2124366A1; BR7200519D0; ES399349A1; CH540357A; DE2204666A1; JPS565849B1; CA962249A; IT948989B; FR2124366B1; GB1384822A

Abstract

A spinning frame or a ring twister frame with semi-automatic doffing and donning is provided with a doffing bar on the usual ring rail with projections which in one position of the doffing bar are opposite each wound bobbin. The ring rail is pneumatically lowered when the bobbins are fully wound to a position just below the normal starting position and the doffing bar moved so that the projections are underneath the bottom ends of the bobbins. The pneumatic cylinder used to bear down the rail is double acting, and when the doffing cycle is manually started raises the ring rail to a position high enough to lift the wound bobbins off their spindles. At the same time, a wall is tilted, forming a chute into which the bobbins fall, and a conveyor in the bottom of the chute carried them to a full bobbin container. In the case of spinning frames, there is carried on the ring rail a donning tube with holes opposite each spindle, and before initiating the doffing cycle the operator fills these holes with empty cores or bobbins upside down. The next actuation pneumatically brings the donning tube over the rings in the ring rail and causes the tube to rotate 180*. The empty bobbins fall down onto the spindles and then the ring rail is borne down again to normal position for starting winding. This produces a slack on the traversing chain and a pneumatic cylinder rewinds this to starting position. When the starting button is pushed, winding starts as usual.

Description

United States Patent Brissey et a1,

[ 51 July 25,1972

[54] QUILL OR BOBBIN SPINNING AND WINDING FRAME WITH SEMI- AUTOMATIC DOFFING AND DONNING [72] Inventors: Charles David Brissey; Marvin Nathaniel Trotter, both of Anderson, SC.

[73] Assignee: J. P. Stevens & Co. Inc., New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Feb. 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 111,463

52] U.S.Cl ..s7/s2,57/s4 511 IntrCl. ...D01h9/00 Primary Examiner-John Petrakes Attorney-Robert Ames Norton, Michael T. Frimer andSaul Leitner n t i [5 7] ABSTRACT A spinning frame or a ring twister frame with semi-automatic doffing and donning is provided with a doffing bar on the usual ring rail with projections which in one position of the doffing bar are opposite each wound bobbin. The ring rail is pneumatically lowered when the bobbins are fully wound to a posi' tion just below the normal starting position and the doffing bar moved so that the projections are underneath the bottom ends of the bobbins. The pneumatic cylinder used to bear down the rail is double acting, and when the doffing cycle is manually started raises the ring rail to a position high enough to lift the wound bobbins ofi' their spindles. At the same time, a wall is tilted, forming a chute into which the bobbins fall, and a conveyor in the bottom of the chute carried them to a full bobbin container. 1n the case of spinning frames, there is carried on the ring rail a donning tube with holes opposite each spindle. and before initiating the doffing cycle the operator fills these holes with empty cores or bobbins upside down. The next actuation pneumatically brings the donning tube over the rings in the ring rail and causes the tube to rotate 180. The empty bobbins fall down onto the spindles and then the ring rail is borne down again to normal position for starting winding. This produces a slack on the traversing chain and a pneumatic cylinder rewinds this to starting position. When the starting button is pushed, winding starts as usual.

22 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented July 25, 1972 3,678,672

5 Sheets-Sheet l 53 INVENTOR CHARLES DAVID BRISSEY MARVIN NATHANIIEL TROTTER ATTORNEY Patented July 25, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 25, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet L" Patented July 25, 1972 3,678,672

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 25, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG? FIG. 8

illfll/ll QUILL R BOBBIN SPINNING AND WINDING FRAME WITH SEMI-AUTOMATIC DOFFING AND DONNING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Spinning frames and also ring twister frames are extensively used in the textile industry. Both types of frames wind bobbins and are provided with ring rails carrying thread guides which can move around each ring. Both types of frames wind at very large number of bobbins simultaneously and rapidly, the empty bobbins on the spinning frames having enlarged bot toms, while the bobbins on a ring twister frame have enlargements both top and bottom and so resemble somewhat elongated spools. The ring twister frames are provided with feeds for yarns to be twisted or plied, whereas the spinning frames in general use a single yarn and the winding of the bobbin ordinarily does not impart additional twist. In the case of spinning frames, technically they carry out both a spinning and winding operation, but in the industry the machine is referred to as a spinning frame, and this nomenclature will be used throughout the specification and claims.

When a number of bobbins or quills have been wound by the conventional means, a builder motion causes the ring rail to gradually move up the bobbin and to oscillate in each particular position so that layers of yarn are wound uniformly on the bobbins. A switch is provided which is actuated by the ring rail in its highest position when the bobbins are fully wound. Historically this is referred to as a knock-off switch," and it actuates, usually electro-pneumatically, a sequence of operations which includes tipping up upper thread guides, bearing down the ring rail, and in its bottom position turning off the frame drive motor. In most frames, both spinning frames and ring twister frames, the gradual rise of the ring rail, which rail is equipped with conventional rings and travelers, was usually effected by cross shafts with counterweights which raise the ring rail to successive positions determined by a traversing mechanism or chain which is gradually let out, usually by ratchet and worm gear mechanism. Instead of counterweights other means, such as springs, may be used. A continuously rotating cam oscillates the ring rail for a short stroke as the rail is allowed gradually to move up the bobbins being wound. The oscillation of the ring rail effects a builder motion to build up thewinding on the bobbins.

When the ring rail has been borne down after the knock-off switch is actuated and the machine stops, the full bobbins are doffed manually by lifting off from their spindles and replacing with empty bobbins. Hitherto the expense of the large number of doffers and the other added costs have been considered the price one has to pay for winding a large number of bobbins or quills on frames. It is with an attachment to spinning and ring twister frames which provides automatic or rather semi-automatic doffing and/or donning that the present invention deals. The doffing action is effected simultaneously for all of the bobbins on one frame. Then the donning action is effected for all bobbins on one frame. In the case of spinning frames donning action can be effected simultaneously for all the bobbins on any one frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides semi-automatic dofiing and/or donning of multiple spindle spinning frames and ring twisters. The new operations are preferably power actuated, electro-pneumatic actuation being cheap and reliable and therefore preferred, but the invention is not limited to this kind of power actuation. The oscillation of the ring rail during winding of the thread, such as warp or filling threads, is effected with counterweights and traversing mechanism with a chain which is gradually let out in exactly the same manner as in the ordinary manually doffed and donned spinning frames. This is an advantage as the invention can be applied to standard spinning frames at very modest cost and without rebuilding the whole frame.

It should be understood that the broad concept of automatic or semi-automatic doffing on spinning frames is not new.

Some of the devices in the past have required movable doffers, such as those sold by the Whitin and Draper companies, which move a doffer along a spinning frame, dofiing bobbins sequentially but somewhat faster than manual dofiing. However, increased space between spinning frames is required, and while there is some saving in doffing labor, there is little saving in down time of the spinning frame during the doffing operation, and of course the greater space required makes application impractical to spinning frames that are close together. There has also been a proposal for doffing and donning with a separate doffing and donning mechanism for each of the very large number of spindles. This is extremely expensive and complicated, and with delicate yarns can cause damage in certain cases because the mechanism grips the wound bobbin itself. These automatic or semi-automatic doffing proposals have, therefore, failed to efiect maximum saving in spinning frame operation, and in the case of the last described develop ment are not applicable to bobbins of different size without extensive rebuilding and redesign; and of course the high cost and complicated mechanism absorb a considerable portion of the savings obtained by reducing the demand for doffing labor.

The present invention is, therefore, not directed to the broad idea of mechanical dofling and/or donning; it is directed to a much cheaper and/or faster semi-automatic dolfing and donning device which operates on a difl'erent principle. Essentially the present invention includes the following sequence of operations, which will first be described very briefly and then in more detail. The description will be in connection with spinning frames. The bearing down of the ring rail after full bobbins have actuated the knock-0E switch is to a point below the normal low position of the ring rail for starting winding. The additional lowering is sufi'icient so that according to the present invention projections carried by the ring rail can be moved into position under the bottoms of the wound bobbins. Just before the projections are moved into position under the bottoms of the wound bobbins, a short blast of air blows the traveler on each ring to a position so that when the projections are moved, they do not strike the travelers or break the yarn. In normal operation the n'aveler on each ring is blown toward the aisle between spinning frames. In its borne down position the ring rail actuates electrical switches which stop the winding motor and the whole machine stops and remains stopped until a doffing cycle proper is manually started. This permits marking of bobbins or other operations which may be desired. The switch actuation by the ring rail, which has just been described, is substantially the same as takes place in a manually doffed spinning frame which is equipped with an automatic ring rail lowering mechanism. For this reason, in the more specific description below the switches and their connections are not shown as they are not changed by the present invention.

The next operation involves a manually initiated doffing cycle, including a starting button, which raises the ring rail, preferably by power actuation as the amount of friction of the very large number of bobbins on their spindles is too great for the ordinary counterweights which produce oscillation of the ring rail during winding unless they are of very large size. The present invention includes in a broad aspect devices in which the raising of the ring rail at this point is not power actuated, but power actuation is greatly preferred. This can be very simply effected by a double acting cylinder bearing down the ring rail. In a further, more specific aspect this preferred operation is included.

It should be noted that the ring rail need not be and preferably is not raised to a position as high as the position it occupies when the bobbins are fully wound and the knock-off switch is actuated. The reason why it is unnecessary to raise the ring rail to the maximum elevated position is that the spindles are much shorter than the hollow empty bobbins and, therefore, the wound bobbins can be lifted up off their spindles without raising the ring rail to the point where the knockoff switch would again be actuated. The fully wound bobbins lifted up by the projections on the ring rail above their spindles fall outward, away from the center line of the frame, into suitable containers. Preferably they fall into a chute and a conveyor belt is started to move then to a final container at the end of the frame. The chute can be stationary, but as this wastes aisle space between frames and makes the creeling of the roving packages more difficult, it is preferred to have the chute with a tiltable outer wall so that during winding no space is taken up. In this preferred form the chute wall is tilted out before or during the raising of the ring rail which efi'ects dofi'mg.

After dofiing, the ring rail is again borne down, this time to the normal position for starting the winding of bobbins. This results in slack in the chain in the traversing mechanism, and in a further more specific aspect of the present invention this chain is rewound by pneumatic actuation from a very small cylinder instead of winding the chain up again with a manual crank, as is standard on manually doffed spinning frames. As manual rewinding is quite rapid as compared to manual doffing, the major advantages of the present invention in saving of labor can still be achieved even if the traversing chain is manually rewound, and so in some broader aspects such operation is included. However, the modest cost of the small pneumatic cylinder required for rewinding and of the corresponding electrical wiring makes power rewinding very desirable, and this is a preferred form of the invention. The pneumatic rewinding also eliminates incomplete rewinding, which can occur when the operation is manual.

The semi-automatic doffing, which is a very important feature of the present invention, may be used with manual donning of empty bobbins on the spindles after the ring rail is borne down a second time to the winding start position. This reduces by more than half the time of manual dofiing and the effort, but it still wastes some doffing labor and also increases the time during which the spinning frame is not effectively winding bobbins, or rather reduces this time substantially but does not eliminate it completely. Therefore, in a further more specific aspect of the present invention semi-automatic donning is included. This is effected by a donning bar or tube which is carried by the ring rail in a position that does not interfere with the winding. The donning bar has a hole opposite each winding spindle and empty bobbins are introduced into these holes upside down, the enlarged bottom of each bobbin of course preventing its falling through the hole. In the semiautomatic doffing cycle which has been described above, after the full bobbins have been dofied, another power device, preferably another electro-pneumatic cylinder, swings the donning bar over the rings in the ring rail. This is effected by swinging it in an arc, with gear segments meshing so that the donning bar is turned through 90 as well as the 90 rotation effected by swinging in the arc. The total is 180, and now the empty bobbins drop down through the rings onto their spindles.

Thereafter, after a short delay, effected by conventional electronic means, the donning bar is rocked back to its normal position; and if all empty bobbins fall on their spindles, the ring rail again drops to winding position and stops. If during the electrical delay an empty bobbin sticks or does not fall all the way down on its spindle, electrical stoppage can be effected and is desirable although not essential. Normally the machine operates without any malfunctioning, and when the ring rail returns to its winding position, slack is produced in the traversing mechanism chain, and it is rewound as has been mentioned above. Preferably, malfunction is protected against and a reset button provided, as is customary in mechanisms where it is desired to protect against temporary malfunction. These mechanisms are conventional with a wide variety of mechanical devices, and while it is desirable to include such a mechanism in the present invention, the particular design is not concerned with the invention proper. At the end of the above operations the machine is in position again to start winding when the start button is pushed by the operator and a new winding cycle is initiated.

Since the bobbins on a ring twister frame have enlarged portions both at the bottom and top, the automatic donning cannot be used practically with this type of frame because the enlargement at the top of each bobbin would prevent inserting the empty bobbins or cores upside down in the donning bar. The automatic donning is, therefore, only applicable to the specific aspect of the present invention which is directed to spinning frames in which the top of empty bobbins or cores is not enlarged.

Reference has been made above to the automatic doffing by introducing projections on the ring rail underneath the bottom of each wound bobbin when the ring rail is borne down for the first time to a position slightly below its normal lowermost position for winding. More broadly considered, the present invention includes any projections which can be moved in by any mechanism that can be controlled to operate at the right point during the cycle and can be brought back into winding position before the end of the cycle and before the machine is started on a new winding cycle.

In a more specific and most preferred form, in either spinning frames or ring twister frames the projections on the ring rail which permit doffing at the right part of the cycle are of a flat bar having scallops spaced for the winding spindles. These scallops are preferably not a full semicircle, and of course between scallops there are straight projections. When the dofiing bar is to be introduced with the straight projections underneath the bottoms of the wound bobbins, this is very easily effected by a small double-acting pneumatic cylinder carried by the ring rail which moves the flat scalloped bar sideways by a distance which is normally about half the spacing between spindles. This brings the flat portions between the scallops, which of course project much more than the arcs of the scallops in their central portions, underneath the bottoms of the bobbins. It can be seen why the scallops are preferably not a full semicircle as it is undesirable to have the flat portions between scallops strike the bobbin winding spindle.

A flat bar or an angle shape with a flat top section, which will be generally referred to as a flat bar, is preferable as a means for introducing projections under each wound bobbin during the doffing cycle proper. By far the simplest and best form is to have the bar slide lengthwise on the ring rail the very short distance which is needed to bring the projections under the wound bobbins, but of course the invention is not limited to this preferred form and it is possible to move a flat bar crossways of the ring rail. This operates perfectly butrequires a much more complicated and expensive operating mechanism, which is why the simple form of bar that slides a small distance longitudinally of the ring rail is preferred. This preferred form has several other advantages. Since the bar is flat and horizontal, no force tends to make it move from one position to the other, and therefore it is not necessary that its actuating cylinder be in power actuating position during the dofiing. This simplifies somewhat the pneumatic connections and electrical connections and, of course, may not be available with some other forms of drive which would put projec tions underneath the wound bobbins.

A second practical advantage of the preferred form of dofiing bar is that this is flat metal held only at the ends of the ring rail, and of course connected to the actuating rod, and therefore, if the frame is used with a different spindle position or if it is changed to operate with different sized bobbins, it is a simple matter to replace the flat bar with one of different dimensions to suit the changed conditions. Ordinarily a spinning frame will maintain the same gauge or dimension between spindles for long periods of time and so this advantage is less vital than others, but this does indicate the flexibility of the present invention. The additional advantage, even though only useful at infrequent intervals, is obtained without any additional mechanism and at minimum cost. Throughout the rest of the specification and including the description of the drawings and preferred embodiments below, the preferred flat, scalloped dofifing bar will be described, though, as has been pointed out above, the present invention is not limited in its broadest aspects to this preferred and desirable form.

It will be noted that when the modification dealing with spinning frames and utilizing donning bar or tube is included, this bar has to be filled with empty bobbins by hand. At first glance this might be thought to negate a portion of the advantages of the invention, but in fact this is not the case. Winding and doffing cycles are quite long, sometimes as long as several hours for every large bobbins and fine yarns, and the oscillation of the ring rail under cam action is relatively quite slow. It is, therefore, practical to put the empty bobbins in the donning bar while winding is going on. An operator for a number of spinning frames is, of course, essential, and the present invention does not eliminate such operators entirely; it merely reduces greatly the doffing labor required for a large number of frames. Therefore, even though the donning bar has to be manually loaded, this need not result in a longer period of time during which the spinning frame is not winding. The actual automatic donning is, of course, very rapid, and this is one of the big savings in time, because an operator must be present in a line of spinning frames in any event.

While the most important advantages of the present invention lie in the saving in doffing labor and the shortened time that it takes to doff and don bobbins on a spinning frame, there are some further advantages. The present invention reduces the strength required and the physical strain which in some cases can effect a further advantage and in any event presents working conditions, which are not objectionable. The present invention therefore presents the very desirable situation that the large savings in cost and time are obtained with no offsetting disadvantages and in fact with further ad vantages.

It will be noted that the description is of a dofiing bar or projection on the top of the ring rail. This is preferred, but of course projections can be moved in from the bottom of the ring rail if desired. In such a case it is not necessary that the first bearing down of the ring rail on actuation of the full bobbin knock-off switch bear it down to a position below that for starting of winding. The essential feature is that the projections can be introduced underneath the bottom of the wound bobbins.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a diagrammatic front isometric of a portion of a spinning frame with fully wound bobbins at the start of the doffing cycle;

FIG. 2 is a detail of a knock-off switch;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the ring rail, partly broken away;

FIG. 4 is an isometric similar to FIG. .1 just after wound bobbins have been doffed and the doffing bar repositioned out of the way of winding;

FIG. 5 is an isometric of the traversing mechanism or builder motion and rewind mechanism at the end of the doffing and donning cycle;

FIG. 6 is a detailed isometric of the ring rail oscillating and raising mechanism;

FIG. 7 shows one bobbin and illustrates the doffing of the bobbin, and

FIG. 8 shows a portion of the ring rail during donning.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Since many of the elements of the spinning frame of the present invention are the same as in a spinning frame for manual doffing, these elements are shown either diagrammatically or not illustrated but mentioned in the description. This applies particularly to a number of the switches actuated during the doffing and donning cycles. Many of these switches are not shown on the drawings in order to avoid confusion.

A portion of the spinning frame itself is shown at l and is shown in detail in FIG. 6. Looking at FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, taken with FIG. 6, it can be seen that a ring rail 2 is provided which can be raised and lowered by rods 3, which extend through bushings 4 in the frame. These are actuated by a number of cross shafts 5 carrying counterweights 6 and arms 7, the ends of which bear on followers 8 of the rods 3. One such shaft is shown in FIG. 6 and another in FIG. 5. There are a large number of such cross shafts as the length of a ring rail in a long spinning frame can be 30 feet or more and it must be raised and lowered by rods at fairly short intervals to prevent bending of the ring rail. Since this arrangement of multiple cross shafts is conventional in spinning frames, only a portion of one arm is shown in FIG. 4, and a rod and an arm on FIG. 6, with another rod shown in FIG. 5 at the end of the frame, which connects to the traverse mechanism, which will be described below. In order not to confuse the drawing, no ring rail lifter rods are shown in FIG. 1. Their arrangement is completely conventional and is not changed at all by the present invention with the exception that FIG. 5 shows a power actuated rewind for the transversing mechanism in addition to the conventional manual rewind. This will be described further below.

Reference has been made above and will be made further on to bearing down the ring rail. This operation is one in which gravity plays a part. As will be described below in connection particularly with FIG. 6, when the ring rail is borne down, this results in a turning of the cross shafts 5 clockwise, which causes the arms '7 to move down. The weight of the ring rail, which is quite considerable, causes the rail to move downward, the rods 3 keeping the followers 8 in contact with the rollers on the ends of the arms 7. This is in contrast to the raising of the ring rail, which takes place during the actual dofiing, as will be described below. Here the arms 7, as can be seen in FIG. 6, are moved up by power actuation, which is necessary because of the considerable friction and power requirements for doffing a large number of fully wound bobbins which have to be lifted off their spindles. When the ring rail is borne down, however, there is no considerable re sistance, merely the small amount of friction of the rods 3 in their bushings 4, together with the lifting of the counterweights 6, and so the weight of the ring rail is ample to move it down, keeping the followers 8 in contact with rollers on the arms 7.

In general the description will follow the sequence of operations of the device to make understanding clearer. Each cross shaft 5 not only carries counterweights 6 but also carries a projecting arm 11, which arms are all connected together by a conventional driving bar, (not shown), extending the length of the frame. At the end of the frame opposite the drive end, the last cross shaft, and in some cases two cross shafts, have their counterweights on the other side and are controlled by a traversing chain in the opposite direction. As the only purpose is to prevent striking of the end of the frame by counterweights and other mechanisms, they are not illustrated in the drawing at all as they are purely conventional and their details do not enter into the operation of the invention.

Turning to FIG. 5, it will be seen that there is on its shaft 5 a further arm ll into which a traversing chain 12 is connected. This chain passes over an idler roller 13, one end being fastened to an oscillating lever 14, which is provided with a counterweight 15. In order not to obscure the drawing, some of the links of the chain between the arm 11 and the idler roller 13 are omitted in the drawing. The chain, of course, is continuous. The lever 14 is pivoted at 16 and is provided with a cam follower 117, which is actuated by a cam 18 driven from the drive of the spinning frame, which drive and connection are not shown as they are conventional in manual doff spinning frames. It will be noted that the cam 18 causes a slow oscillation of the lever 14. This oscillation, which has quite a short stroke, normally less than two inches, permits raising the ring rail so that layers of yarn can be wound on the bobbins, as will be described below. The top of the stroke is determined by the chain 12. Each stroke results in moving a ratchet wheel 119 one ormore teeth, controlled by pawl 20. This turns a shaft 211, which through worm and worm gears 22 very slowly turns a drum 23. The drum gadually unwinds the traversing chain 112 so that the ring rail moves up and down in short stroked oscillations, each one starting a little higher on the bobbin.

During the oscillations and gradual rising of the ring rail described above, the chain 12 is taut because it is performing the function of limiting the rise of the ring rail in each oscillation. FIG. 5, however, represents a situation after the ring rail has been borne down for the last time in the dofiing and donning cycle. At this point, as will be described below, the traverse chain 12 is rewound, and hence in FIG. the chain is shown with a considerable amount of slack, which is taken up by the rewinding.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 6, it will be seen that the spindles 24 are turned in fours, (one pair on each frame side), by the conventional belts 25 driven by the main spinning frame drive. This mechanism is not shown in FIG. 1 as it is hidden by the ring rail 2 in its bottom position. In FIG. 4 empty bobbins 26 are shown on all of the spindles except at the extreme left. The tip of each spindle blade is lower than the bobbin tip, as can be seen in FIG. 4, and also is indicated in FIG. '7.

FIG. 8 shows the donning of the empty bobbins, which will be described below, and FIG. 4 shows the situation after donning is complete, except of course for the left hand spindle in FIG. 4 where the empty bobbin has deliberately been omitted in order to illustrate the relative differences in height between the spindle tip and the bobbin tip. Each of the bobbins has an enlarged bottom 27, as is conventional. This can be seen clearly in FIGS. 1, 4, 7 and 8. FIG. 4 illustrates a position just after donning has been effected and just before lowering the ring rail 2 to its start of winding position. As has been described in the general portion of the specification, after donning the ring rail is once again borne down by the mechanism which will be described, and the upper thread guides on a bar 29 are once again lowered by the pneumatic cylinder 30. The machine drive has been shut down and after the ring rail is borne down the second time the frame is ready to be started, which is effected with conventional means. whereupon winding starts, the traverse mechanism in the meantime having been rewound, either by hand or automatically, as will be described below. The ring rail oscillates through short strokes by the cam 18, (FIG. 5), and the bobbin is gradually wound up in short layers controlled by the stroke of the ring rail. This. produces the well known slightly tapered build of the bobbin when fully wound, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 7.

During the latter stages of the bobbin build, the ring rail rises and a roller 32 on an arm 33 lifts up, as shown in FIG. 4, the roller bearing on the doffing bar actuating cylinder 44, which is carried by the ring rail 2. After the bobbins have become fully wound, the roller 32 will have moved up to the position shown in FIG. 2, and the knock-off switch 31 is actuated. This introduces air into one end of a double acting cylinder 35, which is shown in FIG. 6, the introduction being through the pipe 36 into the left end of the cylinder, which moves the piston in the cylinder to the right, causing the piston rod 37 similarly to move to the right and moving the arm on the shaft 5 to rotate the shaft clockwise, which raises the counterweights 6 and moves the arm 7 down, permitting the rods 3 also to move down under the weight of the ring rail 2. This permits the ring rail 2 to be borne down. When the ring rail reaches a position somewhat below the start of winding position, the rail actuates switches which turn off the motor and raise the thread guides 28 by introducing air into the cylinder 30. This results in the position shown in FIG. 1, the turning of the shaft by the air cylinder being indicated by the curved arrow. The switches, which are struck by the ring rail in the position in FIG. 1, are not shown.

The spinning frame is now stopped and remains stopped until a doffing cycle is started by a pushbutton, (not shown). In the stopped position, full bobbins, which can be seen in FIG. I, can be marked by the operator, which may be desired. It is undesirable, although possible, to start the dofiing cycle automatically. The semi-automatic operation is preferred in which the dofflng cycle is not started until the pushbutton is actuated. Air is introduced into a perforated pipe 39 through a fitting 38 which extends out at one end of the doffing bar 45.

Connection to the fitting is through flexible tubing, (not shown), as of course the tube 39 and doffing bar 45 rise and fall with the ring rail 2. The fitting 38 is most clearly shown in FIG. 1, which also shows a portion of the tube 39 with one perforation. It is not shown, nor is tube 39, in FIG. 4 in order not to confuse the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a portion of the bar 45 broken away, which makes the tube 39 and perforation visible. Also, of course, the tube 39 appears in section in FIGS. 7

and 8, but as these figures are not at the point where the right angles fitting 38 is located, this latter does not show. As can be seen near the left hand side of FIG. 3, the perforation in the tube 39 is offset to the left. If the perforation were exactly at the center of the arc of the scallop 46 and if the traveling thread guide 40 were exactly in the center of the rear arc of the ring 42, the straight blast of air might not have sufiicient sideways component to cause the traveling guide 40 to start moving around the ring 42, and this could result in a thread guide that was not blown out of the way of the doffing bar projections 47 when the latter is moved in the doffing cycle. Even with the offset locations of the perforation, it is still possible on regular occasion for a traveler not to be blown completely out of the way of the projections 47. This situation is symbolized in the center of FIG. 3 where the traveler in question is numbered 43 to distinguish it from the other travelers 40 which are blown to their proper positions. If the perforations in the tube 39 were centrally located with respect to scalloped arc, this would be a much more frequent occurrence, which, as will be described below, is undesirable. Normally the blast from the perforation, which has a sideways component, will blow all of the travelers 40 to positions on the rings where they are not struck by the projections 47 when the doffing bar is actuated, as will be described. As the traveling thread guides 40 by their very nature move very freely around the rings 42, normal operation will almost always blow them into a position where they are not struck by the projections 47.

After the air blast period is over, air is introduced into the right hand end of the cylinder 44, which cylinder can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4. The air connections and solenoid controls are conventional and are, therefore, not specifically shown on the drawings. Cylinder 44 pulls a flat doffing bar 45 to the left. The bar has semi-circular scallops 46, which are not a full semicircle and are separated by flat projections 47. The great length of the flat bar 45, which extends the full length of the spinning frame, often 15 feet or more, could create a possibility of bending, and this is avoided by plastic blocks 56 of a plastic of low coefficient of friction, such as Teflon, mounted on the ring rail 2 every 2 feet or so and forming supports over which the bar 45 slides easily without bending. In order to support the bar somewhat more, the ring rail 2 is in the fomi of a channel with two skirts, along one of which a bent down portion of the bar 45 slides. The construction just described is shown clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8, which are sections taken at points where supporting blocks 56 are located.

FIG. 4 shows the bar 45 in the winding position with the scallops opposite the bobbins. In FIG. 1, however, the bar has been moved to the left, and now the projections 47 are moved under the enlarged bottoms 27 of the bobbins. Air is then cut off from the cylinder 44, which is double acting, but does not need to remain in its actuated position as the friction of the long bar 45 on the plastic supports 56 prevents any movement of the bar except under the actuation of the cylinder 44.

If one or more travelers, such as shown in the case of traveler 43 in FIG. 3, have not been blown around the ring rail, as they normally are blown since the travelers move freely around the ring rail, a projection will strike such a traveler 43 and will move it mechanically to a position where it does not interfere with the subsequent doffrng. While the movement of the doffing bar 45 would move a traveler which had not been blown to a proper position, this frequently results in breaking the yarn, although this does not always take place. The air blast is therefore intended to blow the travelers 40 around with considerable reliability. However, if one of the travelers is not blown, as has been mentioned above, yarn may be broken; and so, normally the operator will note whether this has occurred and correct the situation after the doffing cycle has ended.

Air is now introduced in the other end of the double acting cylinder 35, (FIG. 6), through a pipe 48. This causes the lever to move in a counterclockwise direction, which positively forces up the ring rail 2. If desired, air can be bled through the pipe 36 through a restricted opening so that the rising of the rail will not be too sudden or jerky. This is a refinement which is not essential to the operation of the invention but which has some advantages. As the ring rail rises, the projections 47 on the bar 45 lift the full bobbins, and when the bobbins are raised above the ends of the spindles 24, the bobbins topple off and are doffed. FIG. 1 shows the projections 47 engaging the bottoms 27 of the bobbins, and FIG. 7 shows a similar engagement but at the point that the ring rail has risen to lift the bobbin off its spindle 24.

In order to conserve space, the container into which the doffed bobbins fall is in the form of a chute 49 with a tiltable wall 50 which is tilted out by the air cylinder 51. The actuation should be sufficiently early before the ring rail is raised to the position where the bobbins are doffed so that the wall 50 is out and thebobbins fall into the chute. At the same time, a conveyor 52 is started and moves to the left, carrying with it the full bobbins. This operation can be seen readily in FIG. 4, where one of the bobbins is shown and which represents a position shortly after the doffing has taken place. The conveyor runs for a sufficient period of time so that all of the doffed bobbins are carried to the left and fall into a bin.

Donning now takes place, as can be seen in FIG. 8. The empty bobbins are inserted in the openings 54 of a donning bar or tube 53. As has been described above, the insertion of the empty bobbins upside down in the donning bar 53 can be effected manually without requiring additional labor as it can be effected at any time during the fairly long winding cycle. Air is now introduced into a cylinder 66, (FIG. 8), which moves a bell crank 57. The other arm of this crank turns the donning bar 53. The arm of the bell crank 57, which connects to the donning bar 53, can be seen in FIG. 3 but is shown in more detail in FIG. 8. The donning bar is caused to move through an arc as it is held at both ends by a pivoted link 58, which can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4. As the donning bar swings up over the rings in the ring rail, the arc causes it to turn through 90, and pairs of gear segments 59 causes the bar to rotate another 90 so that it swings over above the rings 42, and at this point the empty bobbins fall down through the rings onto the spindles. The movement of the empty bobbins is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8, but in order not to confuse the drawing the donning bar 53 itself and the linkage to cylinder 66 is shown in full lines in FIG. 8 only in their initial position. The exact angle through which the donning bar 53 is caused to rotate is not critical, but it should be near enough to 180 so that the empty bobbins can fall through the rings 42 onto their spindles 24. For better support the pivoting link 58 and gear segments 52 are also prevent on the other end of the donning bar and ring rail, but this is not shown in the drawings. The donning bar 53 is then swung back to its original position, and this is shown in FIG. 4, where all of the empty bobbins have been dropped onto their spindles with the exception of the bobbin at the extreme left, which, as has been described, has been omitted to show the relative heights of the spindle tip and the bobbin tip. The donning bar is now in its normal running position. Safety switches, (not shown), prevent jamming in case empty bobbin sticks crossways in a ring. After rectifying the problem, the operator can then reset the rest of the cycle. As has been mentioned above, the semiautomatic donning mechanism is applicable only to spinning frames and cannot be used on ring twister frames.

Before the empty bobbins have been dropped correctly on their spindles, as shown in FIG. 4, air is introduced into the other end of the doffing bar double acting cylinder 44 to move 3 the bar 45 a little to the right so that the arcs of the scallops 46 are opposite the spindles. FIG. 4 shows the position just after the bar 45 has been moved to its winding position. The ring rail then bears down again by operation of the cylinder 35, as described above, and this results in chain 12 of the traversing mechanism becoming slack, as is shown in FIG. 5.

The cylinder 55 now receives air, which causes its piston rod 60 to move and rewinds the chain on the drum 23 through a cable 61 running over a guide pulley 62. FIG. 5 illustrates the situation just as the rewind operation starts. When it is complete, the chain is wound up, and now when the counterweights try to raise the ring rail 2, it is held in the upper position of the first stroke by the chain 12. Air is then turned off from the cylinder 55, and since the spinning frame drive was shut off the first time the ring rail was borne down below the normal operating position so that the projections 47 on the doffing bar 45 could slide under the bottoms of the full bobbins, the whole machine is ready to be restarted by a manual start button, (not shown). Since the rewinding is quite rapid, the chain 12 could also be rewound manually by a crank 64 which fits over a square nut 65 on the shaft 21. This manual rewind is standard in spinning frames: utilizing manual doffing and the power actuated rewind is, therefore, optional as the principal advantages of the present invention are obtainable even with manual rewinding. The cylinder 55 is very small and of low cost as it only has to rewind the chain when it is already slack, and therefore it is preferred to include it. The power rewinding has an additional advantage as it is always a complete rewinding, whereas manual rewinding could carelessly be incomplete. Incomplete rewinding will result in bad bunches and bad bobbin builds, and the complete elimination of this possibility makes the power actuated rewinding normally well worthwhile.

When the ring rail is returned to starting position after the last bear down, as has been described above, this actuates a further switch which causes the air cylinder 30 to return the upper thread guides 28 to their normal winding position, which is represented on FIGS. 1 and 4 by the extreme clockwise position of rotation shown by the curved arrow.

As the flat doffing bar 45 can easily be detached and replaced by another bar, different sized rings and bobbins can be accommodated by replacing with a bar having scallops of suitable dimensions. Normally spinning frames operate for long periods of time with the same size rings and bobbins, so this additional advantage is somewhat. less important than the other advantages in saving of labor, down time of the spinning frame, and the like, which constitute the principal features of the present invention.

It will be noted that the present invention can be applied to existing spinning frames designed for manual doffing. The additional elements, such as the doffing bar, rewind, chute wall actuation, and the like, are all easily added without requiring extensive dismantling of any parts of the spinning frame. This is a practical advantage where the invention is to be applied to existing frames, of which there are a very large number used in the industry, but of course it is not necessary to have the additional elements bolted on. When a new frame is built they can be incorporated in non-removable form.

As ring twister frames and spinning frames include a number of elements, and especially ring rails, in the broad claims these frames will be characterized as ring rail bearing frames, and it should be understood that this broader terminology is intended to include spinning frames, ring twister frames, and similar devices.

We claim:

1. In a multiple spindle ring rail bearing frame including motor, drives to individual spindles, thread guides, a ring rail with travelers on the rings, traversing means permitting the ring rail to assume successively higher and higher positions as a bobbin is wound, a full bobbin knock-off switch which is actuated when the bobbins on the spindles are fully wound and which actuates a mechanism which sequentially bears down the ring rail to a bottom position and stops spindle rotation, the improvement which comprises, in combination,

a. movable projections on the ring rail and means for introducing them underneath each fully wound bobbin after the ring rail has been borne down to a bottom position by the knock-off switch actuated mechanism,

b. means for tilting the thread guides upwardly and for raising the ring rail, after the projections have been moved below the bottoms of the full bobbins, to a height sufiiciently above the spindles to cause the full bobbins to fall off and be doffed, and

c. means for bearing down the ring rail to start winding position and returning the thread guides to normal winding position, and resetting switches, whereby the spinning frame is returned to the position for starting bobbin windmg.

2. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 1 in which the means for raising the ring rail above the spindles is fluid power actuated means.

3. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 2 in which the fluid power actuated means is an electrically controlled, double acting pneumatic cylinder which first bears down the ring rail and then raises it above the tops of the spindles.

4. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 3 in which the projections and means for moving them below the bottom of the wound bobbins comprises a flat bar on top of the ring rail and movable for a short distance longitudinally thereof, the flat bar having a series of scallops with intervening projections, the arc of each scallop being less than a semicircle and being spaced so that in one position the arc of the scallop is beyond its corresponding ring and does not interfere with winding, means for moving the bar longitudinally, bringing the projections between scallops opposite spindles, and the means for bearing down the ring rail on actuation of the knock-off switch, bearing the rail down to a position sufficiently below start of winding position so that the projections between scallops can slide under the bottoms of the wound bobbins.

5. A spinning frame according to claim 4 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180 and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

6. A spinning frame according to claim 5 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90.

7. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 4 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been home down to start winding position.

8. A spinning frame according to claim 3 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180 and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

9. A spinning frame according to claim 8 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90.

10. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 3 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding positron.

11. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 2 in which the projections and means for moving them below the bottom of the wound bobbins comprises a flat bar on top of the ring rail and movable for a short distance longitudinally thereof, the flat bar having a series of scallops with intervening projections, the arc of each scallop being less than a semicircle and being spaced so that in one position the arc of the scallop is beyond its corresponding ring and does not interfere with winding, means for moving the bar longitudinally, bringing the projections between scallops opposite spindles, and the means for bearing down the ring rail on actuation of the knock-off switch, bearing the rail down to a position sufficiently below start of winding position so that the projections between scallops can slide under the bottoms of the wound bobbins.

12. A spinning frame according to claim 11 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is tumed through approximately 180 and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

13. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 11 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.

14. A spinning frame according to claim 2 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180 and they drop trough the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

15. A spinning frame according to claim 14 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 16. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 2 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding positron.

17. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 1 in which the projections and means for moving them below the bottom of the wound bobbins comprises a flat bar on top of the ring rail and movable for a short distance longitudinally thereof, the flat bar having a series of scallops with intervening projections, the arc of each scallop being less than a semicircle and being spaced so that in one position the arc of the scallop is beyond its corresponding ring and does not interfere with winding, means for moving the bar longitudinally, bringing the projections between scallops opposite spindles, and the means for bearing down the ring rail on actuation of the knock-off switch, bearing the rail down to a position sufiiciently below start of winding position so that the projections between scallops can slide under the bottoms of the wound bobbins.

18. A spinning frame according to claim 17 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

19. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 17 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.

20. A spinning frame according to claim 1 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately I80 and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

21. A spinning frame according to claim 20 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 22. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 1 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been home down to start winding position.

Disclaimer 3,678,672-0harles David Baz'ssey and Mar 11in Nathaniel Trotter, Anderson, S.O. QUILL OR BOBBIN SPINNING AND WINDING FRAME WVITH SEMI-AUTOMATIC DOFFING AND DONNING. Patent dated July 25, 1972. Disclaimer filed Sept. 28, 1973, by the assignee, J. P. Stevens d? 00., Inc. Hereby enters this disclaimer to

claims

1, 2 and 3 of said patent.

[Ofieial Gazette Februaty 5, 1.974]

UNITED STATES PATENT orritr CERTiFlCA'lE Ci CCRREMWN Patent No. 3,678,672 Dated July 25, 1972 Inventor(s) Charles D. Brissey et a].

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Abstract, line 13, "carried" should be carries Column 5, line 7, "every" should he very Column 8, line 10, "angles" should be angle Column 9, line 55, "prevent" should be present Column ll, line 12, "spinning" should be ring rail bearing-- Column 12, line 37, "trough should be through Signed and sealed this 6th day of March 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents F OHM POJOBO (10-69) USCOMM-DC GOBI i-Ffi') U.S, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I969 I- 366-334

Claims

1. In a multiple spindle ring rail bearing frame including motor, drives to individual spindles, thread guides, a ring rail with travelers on the rings, traversing means permitting the ring rail to assume successively higher and higher positions as a bobbin is wound, a full bobbin knock-off switch which is actuated when the bobbins on the spindles are fully wound and which actuates a mechanism which sequentially bears down the ring rail to a bottom position and stops spindle rotation, the improvement which comprises, in combination, a. movable projections on the ring rail and means for introducing them underneath each fully wound bobbin after the ring rail has been borne down to a bottom position by the knock-off switch actuated mechanism, b. means for tilting the thread guides upwardly and for raising the ring rail, after the projections have been moved below the bottoms of the full bobbins, to a height sufficiently above the spindles to cause the full bobbins to fall off and be doffed, and c. means for bearing down the ring rail to start winding position and returning the thread guides to normal winding position, and resetting switches, whereby the spinning frame is returned to the position for starting bobbin winding.

5. A spinning frame according to claim 4 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

6. A spinning frame according to claim 5 in whicH at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90*.

7. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 4 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.

8. A spinning frame according to claim 3 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

9. A spinning frame according to claim 8 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90*.

10. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 3 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.

12. A spinning frame according to claim 11 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

14. A spinning frame according to claim 2 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop trough the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

15. A spinning frame according to claim 14 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90*.

16. A ring rAil bearing frame according to claim 2 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.

17. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 1 in which the projections and means for moving them below the bottom of the wound bobbins comprises a flat bar on top of the ring rail and movable for a short distance longitudinally thereof, the flat bar having a series of scallops with intervening projections, the arc of each scallop being less than a semicircle and being spaced so that in one position the arc of the scallop is beyond its corresponding ring and does not interfere with winding, means for moving the bar longitudinally, bringing the projections between scallops opposite spindles, and the means for bearing down the ring rail on actuation of the knock-off switch, bearing the rail down to a position sufficiently below start of winding position so that the projections between scallops can slide under the bottoms of the wound bobbins.

18. A spinning frame according to claim 17 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

20. A spinning frame according to claim 1 in which the ring rail carries a donning bar or tube provided with holes spaced to correspond with the rings and of size suitable for introduction and retention of empty bobbins upside down, and means are provided, actuated after the ring rail has been raised to doff the bobbins, for swinging the donning bar over the rings and rotating it so that the position of the empty bobbins is turned through approximately 180* and they drop through the rings onto the spindles, said means also returning the donning bar to its original position after the empty bobbins have fallen through the rings onto their spindles.

21. A spinning frame according to claim 20 in which at both ends the donning bar and the ring rail are provided with meshing gear segments which result in additional rotation of the bar through approximately 90*.

22. A ring rail bearing frame according to claim 1 comprising power actuated means for rewinding the traversing means after the ring rail has been borne down to start winding position.