US3831364A

US3831364A - Spinning machines having spindle rails movable for tube exchanging

Info

Publication number: US3831364A
Application number: US00405287A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Kawakami; F Yamamoto
Original assignee: Nippon Keori KK
Current assignee: Nippon Keori KK
Priority date: 1972-11-06
Filing date: 1973-10-11
Publication date: 1974-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-27
Also published as: CH559254A5; JPS4968023A; JPS5233698B2

Abstract

Improvements in ring spinning machines of the type having spindle rails selectively translatable between an initial position, for the spinning operation, and a second position spaced outwardly from the initial position, in order to provide a very substantial clearance over the spindles for tube doffing and donning operations. The spindle rails can be tightly held against the fixed part of the machine during spinning with the identical linkage device serving for translation of the spindle rails between the initial and outward positions, without any other locking means. A tangential belt spindle drive system is arranged in a manner that there is a transmission path from the motor mounted on the fixed end portion of the machine to the spindles carried on the translatable spindle rails irrespective of the position of the spindle rail and that the spindles are always engaged by the tangential belt, with the result that the spindles will be prevented from rotating during tube exchanging, provided the motor is stopped.

Description

United States Patent [191 Kawakami et al.

['11] 3,831,364 [451 Aug. 27, 1974 SPINNING MACHINES HAVING SPINDLE RAILS MOVABLE FOR TUBE EXCHANGING [75] Inventors: Hajime Kawakami, Tokyo;

Fumihiko Yamamoto, lchikawa, both of Japan [73] Assignee: The Nippon Keori Co., Ltd.,

Kyogo-ken, Japan [22] Filed: Oct. 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 405,287

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 6, 1972 Japan 47-1 10984 [52] US. Cl. 57/54 [51] Int. Cl. DOlh 9/04, DOlh 9/14 [58] Field of Search 57/52, 53, 54

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,757 3/1914 Shackleton 57/52 1,714,529 '5/1929 Srell et al 57/52 2,51 1,928 6/1950 Mansfield et al. 57/52 X 3,678,672 7/1972 Brisset et al. .4 57/54 X Primary EraminerJohn Petrakes Attorney, Agent, or Firm-McGlew and Tuttle 57] ABSTRACT Improvements in ring spinning machines of the type having spindle rails selectively translatable between an initial position, for the spinning operation, and a second position spaced outwardly from the initial position, in order to provide a very substantial clearance over the spindles for tube doffing and donning operations. The spindle rails can be tightly held against the fixed part of the machine during spinning with the identical linkage device serving for translation of the spindle rails between the initial and outward positions, without any other locking means. A tangential belt spindle drive system is arranged in a manner that there is a transmission path from the motor mounted on the fixed end portion of the machine to the spindles carried on the translatable spindle rails irrespective of the position of the spindle rail and that the spindles are always engaged by the tangential belt, with the result that the spindles will be prevented from rotating during tube exchanging. provided the motor is stopped.

19 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEnmczmu SWBWG SPINNING MACHINES HAVING SPINDLE RAILS MOVABLE FOR TUBE EXCHANGING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to certain improvements in a spinning machine of the type described and claimed in our Patent Application Ser. No. 196,125, filed Nov. 5, 1971, now US. Pat. No. 3,772,867.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART In the Application Ser. No. 196, l 25 we have claimed a spinning machine, for forming yarn packages wound on tubes, comprising, in combination, a fixed frame, supporting means mounted on said fixed frame for movement between a first position, for spinning, and a second position spaced outwardly from said first position, said supporting means being mounted on each side of said machine, a respective row of spindles mounted on each supporting means for carrying the tubes thereon, and each supporting means extending over the full length of the associated row of said spindles, drive means on said first frame operable to move said supporting means directly from said first position to said second position in a direction perpendicular to the common axial planes of the associated rows of spindles, said spindles being movable with said supporting means between said first and second positions in respective axial planes perpendicular to the common axial planes of the rows of the spindles, and being movable from said first position to said second position without substantial rotation of said spindles, respective ring rails, carrying rings, movable to a predetermined location above the full tubes mounted on said spindles of each row, and operating means operable to raise said ring rails to said predetermined location, whereby, when said supporting means are moved from said first position to said second position, after raising of said ring rails to said predetermined location, the tube doffing and donning operations can be performed efficiently due to the large clearance above said spindles in said second position.

In the spinning machine of our earlier Application Ser. No. 196,125, the spindle rails are movable from the first, spinning position, to a second position in which the full tubes may be replaced by empty ones.

When using the machine of the previous invention it is found desirable to provide means for fixing the spindle rail in the first position, with respect to the fixed frame of the machine during spinning in order to allow the machine to operate satisfactorily.

Also, in the machine described in our earlier Specification a tangential belt spindle drive system has been provided, which was fixed on the side of the machine, so that the spindles were disengaged from the tangential belt during tube'exchanging. This meant that the spindles could neither be rotated nor be braked by the tangential belt during tube doffing and donning operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a spinning machine for forming yarn packages wound on tubes comprises, in combination, at least one spindle rail mounted on a fixed frame for movement between a first position for spinning and in which the spindle rail is in abutment with a part of the fixed frame and a second position spaced away from the frame, there being a row of rotatable spindles mounted on said spindle rail for carrying the tubes, drive means mounted on said fixed frame for moving the spindle rail between the first and second positions, the drive means comprising rotary actuator means and linkage means driven by the rotary actuator means, the linkage means including a shaft rotatable by the rotary actuator means, at least one crank secured to the shaft for rotation therewith, and a resiliently deformable arcuate link having one end thereof pivoted to said crank and the other end thereof pivotably connected to the spindle rail, said crank being arranged for rotation through an angle slightly greater than 180 to cause the spindle rail to move between said first and second positions, and the arcuate link and crank together being arranged to form an over-center self-locking toggle mechanism, which holds the spindle rail, when in the first position, in abutment with the said part of the fixed frame with a force provided by the resilient deformation of said arcuate link when in the over-center position of the toggle mechanism.

As in the machines of our earlier case, the delivery rollers may be arranged such that the roller nip is alined with the axis of each spindle, when thespindle rail is in its first position, and spaced only ashort distance therefrom, so as to minimize the yarn breakage rate, the spindle rail being movable outwardly away from the fixed frame to provide a large clearance over the spindle for tube exchanging.

The rotary shaft or the crank is arranged to rotate through an angle slightly greater than half in turn to cause the movement of the spindle rail between its first and second positions, the arcuate link being arranged to deform resiliently during the last part of the rotation 0f the crank as the crank moves the spindle rail to the first position, to lock the spindle rail in its first position.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the spindle rail is supported by at least one pair of parallel links being pivoted at one of their ends to the spindle rail and, at their other ends, being pivoted to the fixed frame. Normally, the spindle rails extends horizontally, and the links lie in a vertical plane for pivotal movement about axes parallel to the spindle rail, which thus may move generally horizontally.

Alternatively, the spindle rail may have a horizontal member secured thereto, the horizontal member being slidably joumalled by bearing means mounted on the fixed frame, the horizontal member having its end remote from the spindle rail 'pivotally connected to the said other end of the arcuate link. In this embodiment, the spindle rail normally extends horizontally and is guided for horizontal movement towards and away from the fixed frame.

With advantage, at least one fluid pressure-operated cylinder actuator can be provided to support the spindle rail when in the second position. The cylinder actuator may be of the type having a cylinder portion which is pivoted to the fixed frame and having a piston mounted within the cylinder portion and having a piston rod pivoted to the spindle rail so that the actuator is swingable about the pivot-axis of the cylinder portion in the plane perpendicular to the plane defined by the axes of the spindle during movement of the spindle rail between its first and second positions, means being provided to admit pressurized fluid to the actuator. The means is operated to pressurize the actuator to relieve the load carried by the horizontal shaft otherwise supporting the spindle rail when in the second position, during tube exchanging operations.

Conveniently, the or each rotary actuator and the cylinder actuator may be operated from a common source of pressurized fluid, which may be either hydraulic or pneumatic.

According to another feature of the invention, there is provided means for rotating the spindles mounted on the spindle rail, which means comprises a motor mounted on the frame and power transfer means from the motor to the spindles and comprising first and second coaxial input pulleys rotatably mounted on the spindle rail, the first input pulley being adapted to drive a tangential belt for rotating the spindles, an output pulley mounted on the fixed frame and driven by the motor, first and second coaxial intermediate pulleys, and first and second arms, the first arm being rotatably mounted on the fixed frame about an axis coaxial with the output pulley, the second arm being rotatably mounted on the spindle rail about an axis coaxial with the input pulleys, the first and second arms being pivotally connected to each other about a common axis, the intermediate pulleys being rotatably supported by the first and second arms about the said common axis, the output pulley and the first intermediate pulley being connected by a first intermediate belt, the second intermediate pulley and the second input pulley being connected by a second intermediate belt, so that power may be transmitted to the tangential belt from the motor to rotate the spindles at all positions of the spindle rail.

The spinning machine of this invention may be provided with a ring rail extending parallel to the spindle rail and carrying a plurality of rings, the ring rail being laterally disengageably supported by lifting means for reciprocating the rings during spinning, said ring rail means having a rod secured thereto, the rod from the ring rail slidably extending through guide means provided on the spindle rail, whereby, when the spindle rail is moved between the first and second positions, said ring rail means is moved therewith and is disengaged from the lifting means.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved ring spinning machine of the type having translatable spindle rails, in which the spindle rail can be tightly held against the fixed frame of the machine during spinning with the identical linkage system serving for translation of the spindle rail, without any other locking apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ring spinning machine of the type having translatable spindle rails, in which a tangential belt spindle drive system has a a transmission path from the motor mounted on the fixed part of the machine to the spindles carried on the translatable spindle rail irrespective of the position of the spindle rail.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ring spinning machine of the type having translatable spindle rails, in which ring rails are not needed to be raised above the full tubes during tube dofi'mg and donning operations.

For an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference is made to the following description of typical embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view, partly in section, of the important parts of a ring spinning machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a spindle rail is movable between a first position for spinning, and to a second position spaced outwardly from the first position for tube exchanging, the spindle rail on the left in the drawing being shown in the first position and the spindle rail on the right in the drawing being shown in the second position;

FIG. 2 is a side view, similar to FIG. 1, illustrating a second embodiment of the invention, in which the spindle rail is horizontally slidably mounted for movement between the first and second positions;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged part-sectional view of the essential parts of the machine shown in FIG. 2, illustrating a self-locking mechanism for fixing the spindle rail to the fixed frame;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 2, in which, for illustrating the invention, the spindle rail on one side of the machine lies in the first position and the spindle rail on the opposite side lies in the second position;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and including means for releasably supporting a ring rail;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the relevant parts of a modified embodiment of the invention, illustrating the spindle rail additionally supporting by a pneumatic cylinder actuator; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the pneumatic system used in a machine embodying the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, the ring spinning machine there illustrated includes delivery rollers 11 rotatably mounted in roller stands 12, a roller beam 13 supported by pillars 14, a spindle rail 15 movably mounted on fixed frame 16, and a row of spindle l7 rotatably mounted on spindle rail 15. A ring 18, together with balloon control ring 19, and yarn guide 20 are associated with each spindle 17. The rings 18 are carried by a ring rail 21 which is supported by a cross-rail 22. Balloon control ring 19 and yarn guide 20 are carried by

rails

23 and 24 respectively supported by

cross-rails

25 and 26 respectively.

Rails

22, 25 and 26 are suspended by suspending

belts

27, 28 and 29 respectively, and the spindles are rotated by a tangential belt 30 pressed against each spindle by a pressure roller 31 rotatably mounted on spindle rail 15.

Delivery rollers 11 are so arranged that their nips lie on lines coincident with the axes of the spindles 17, and the distance between each roller nip and the associated ring 18 is relatively short compared with that in certain known machines, in order to reduce the yarn breakage rate.

Tubes 33, each including a tube 34 and a yarn package 35, are located on spindles 17. During a spinning operation, a yarn 36 is drawn, twisted, and then wound on an empty tube 34 on the spindle, so that a yarn package 35 is formed on the tube 34, as seen on the left side of the machine of FIG. 1. After the machine has been stopped for the tube exchanging process, ring rail 21 is raised to a location over the full tubes. It will be noted that the balloon control ring rail 23 and the yarn guide rail 24 are raised conjointly with the ring rail 21, as will be clear from the part of the machine shown on the right of FIG. 1.

The spindle rail is supported by at least a pair of 5 Within the machine, there is a central plate 38 secured to the fixed frame 16 and extending longitudinally of the machine between the opposite fixed

frame end portions

16a and 16b shown in FIG. 4. A plurality of bearing blocks 39 are fixedly mounted on the central plate 38, and a rotatable shaft 40 is journalled in the bearing blocks so as to extend longitudinally of the machine. The shaft 40 has a plurality of disc cranks 41 keyed thereto for rotation therewith. Two generally rigid arcuate links 42 have their inward ends pivoted to the disc crank 41 on the opposite faces thereof at diametrically opposed positions, each arcuate link having its outward end pivoted to the spindle rail on the respective side of the machine. The links 42, although generally rigid, are made of a material which is resiliently deformable to a small extent (such as a ductile cast iron), so, that the links may spring slightly. The shaft 40 iscaused to rotate by rotary'actuator means.

When tubes are to be exchanged, the shaft together with the disc cranks mounted thereon is rotated in a direction in which the arcuate links 42 are caused to push the respective spindle rail 15 outwardly, so that the spindle rail 15 together with the spindles 17 moves normally to the plane defined by the axes of the spindles from the first position, shown on the left side of FIG. 1, to the outward second position, shown on the right of FIG. 1, in which position access may be had to the spindles for tube exchanging.

There is a large clearance above the spindles in the second position, so that the tube exchanging operations can be performed efficiently either by operators or by automatic apparatus. After the tube exchanging operations have been completed, the spindle rail 15 is returned from the second position to the first position, by rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction.

When the spindle rail is in the first position, during the spinning operation, the shaft 40, disc crank 41, arcuate link 42, and spindle rail 15 are in a self-locking relationship, and the spindle rail is held tightly against the fixed frame portion 16a by a resilient force provided by deformation of the arcuate link 42. This will be particularly described in connection with FIG.'3, below.

The tangential belt 30, pressure roller 31 for rotating the spindles, and the spindles themselves are mounted on the spindle rail 15, so that the relationship therebetween stays unchanged irrespective of movement of the spindle rail.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the spindle rail 15 has at least one horizontal shaft 44 secured thereto, the horizontal shaft extending inwardly therefrom in a direction perpendicular to the plane defined by the axes of the spindles 17. The horizontal shaft 44 is pivoted to arcuate link 42 and journalled in bearing 45 mounted in the fixed frame portion 16a. Each arcuate link 42 has its other, inward end portion pivoted to the disc crank 41. When the shaft 40 and disc crank 41 is rotated in a direction to move arcuate link 42 outwardly, the spindle rail is slid horizontally outwardly from the first position, shown on the left side of FIG. 2, to the second position, shown on the right side of FIG. 2, for tube ex-- changing. When the shaft 40 is rotated in the opposite direction, the spindle rail 15 is returned to the first position.

In this embodiment, unlike that of FIG. 1, the ring rail 21 is guided for vertical movement by cross-rail 22, but is disengageable horizontally therefrom. The ring rail is provided with a vertical rod 46 which extends downwardly from the ring rail and is slidably inserted into a guide portion 15a of the spindle rail, so that the ring rail means rise and fall together with cross-rail 22 by a vertically reciprocating suspension belt 27, during spinning. The ring rail 21 is arranged so as to be received by the guide portion 15a at its lowest position, to which it is lowered, together with cross-rail 22, prior to stopping of the machine for tube exchanging. In this position, the ring rail disengages from the cross-rail so that the ring rail may move horizontally with the spindle rail. Thus, in this embodiment, the ring rail does not have to be raised over the full tubes 33 for tube exchanging.

The vertical rod 46 is so guided in guide portion 15a that each ring 18 and associated spindle 17 are axially aligned at all the positions of the spindle rail.

The other components of the machine shown in FIG. 2 are identical to or similar to those shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the above-mentioned self-locking mechanism for holding the spindle rail against the fixed frame during spinning.

The axes of the horizontal shaft 44 and the shaft 40 lie in the same horizontal plane, and the pivot-axes of the opposite end portion of arcuate link 42 are also in the same plane when spindle rail 15 situates in the outward, second position for tube exchanging.

During spinning, the disc crank 41 lies in its first angular position, shown by solid lines, angularly spaced by slightly greater than from its second angular position in which the spindle rail is in the second position.

When the spindle rail is returned from the second position to the first position, the disc crank 41 is firstly rotated by angle smaller than 180 from its second angular position to its third angular position, in which the spindle rail abuts fixed frame portion 16a, and arcuate link 42 has not yet been deformed, as shown in broken lines. The disc crank 41 is then further rotated from its third angular position to its first angular position, in which arcuate link 42 is resiliently deformed, so that the spindle rail is urged against fixed frame portion 16a by a spring force provided by the resilient deformation of arcuate link 42.

The disc crank, when in its first angular position, to-

gether with horizontal shaft 44, bearing 45 mounted in fixed frame portion 16a, arcuate link 42, and rotary shaft 40 form a self-locking mechanism. This selflocking mechanism is thus a form of over-center toggle mechanism. Accordingly, the spindle rail 15 can be tightly held against the fixed frame portion 160 during spinning without any other locking means.

FIG. 4 illustrates in plan the machine shown in FIG. 2 and a transmission path can be seen from an electric motor 50 mounted in the fixed frame end portion 16b to the spindles 17 carried on the spindle rail 15.

A motor pulley 51 on the motor 50 is connected by a belt 53 to rotate a pair of output pulleys 52. The spindle rail carries a tangential belt spindle drive system including a tangential belt 30, pressure rollers 31, first and second coaxial input pulleys 47a and 47b, guide pulleys 48, and tension adjusting means 49.

For drive transmission from an output pulley 52 mounted on fixed frame end portion 16b to one of the second input pulleys 47b coaxial with a first input pulley 47a and adapted to drive a tangential belt 30, there is provided first and second coaxial intermediate pulleys 55a and 55b rotatably mounted on two

arms

56 and 57. The two arms are hinged together about the same common axis as the intermediate pulleys. The arm 56 is pivoted to fixed frame end portion 1612 about the axis of the output pulley 52; arm 57 is pivoted to the spindle rail 15 about the same as the input pulleys 47a and 47b. When the spindle rail moves, the hinge-axis of

brackets

56 and 57 displaces together with the first and second intermediate pulleys 55a and 55b carried thereon, but the distance between output pulley 52 and first intermediate pulley 55a as well as the distance between second intermediate pulley 55b and second input pulley 47b is constant. First and second intermediate belts 58 a and 58b interconnect output pulley 52 with first intermediate pulley 55a and second intermediate pulley 55b with second input pulley 47b, respectively, to form the transmission line from the motor 50 to spindles 17.

In FIG. 4, for convenience, the spindle rail 15 at the top of the drawing is shown in first position, and the spindle rail at the bottom of the drawing is shown in the second position. It can be seen that there is a transmission path from the motor 50 to the spindles 17 irrespective of the position of the spindle rail 15, and that the spindles 17 are always engaged by the tangential belt 30, so that they may be prevented from rotating during tube exchanging, provided the motor 50 is stopped.

A pair of pneumatic rotary actuators 43 are mounted on the central plate 38 extending between the opposite end frame portions 16b and 160. Each rotary actuator 43 is disposed at a position inwardly spaced from each fixed frame end portion by approximately a quarter of the machine length. The rotary shaft components and the rotary actuators are connected end-to-end to form a common rotary shaft 40.

A plurality of linkages, each comprising a disc crank 41, an arcuate link 42, and a horizontal shaft 44, are spaced apart along the shaft 40.

A pressure source with control means 60 is connected through conduits 61 to the rotary actuators 43 in such a manner that the conduits are branched so as to provide equal motion for the rotary actuators.

FIG. illustrates a modified construction of ring rail lifting means shown in FIG. 2, in which vertical rod 46 secured to ring rail 21 is slidably inserted into a guide portion a of the spindle rail, and in which ring rail 21 is received by the top surface of the guide 15a when it is at the lowest position.

The ring rail has a plurality of channels 62 secured thereto, the channel being downwardly open. The

cross-rail 22 has projections 63 secured to the opposite ends thereof, co-operable with the associated channel 62. During the spinning operation, each projection 63 fits into and supports the associated channel 62 for vertical reciprocation of the ring rail 21 when the cross rail 22 is moved vertically by the suspending belt 27.

When tube exchanging, the cross-rail 22 is caused to fall slightly lower than the lowest position of the ring rail, in which the ring rail 21 is supported by guide 15a mounted on the spindle rail, so that the ring rail disengages from the cross-rail. The ring rail may then move together with the spindle rail, as shown in FIG. 5.

The top and both side walls of channel 62 preferably extend to such an extent that, when the spindle rail is moved outwardly together with the ring rail, the projection 63 of cross-rail 22 is still partially engaged within the area defined by the channel walls. In this case, when cross-rail 22 is raised after the spindle rail 15 is returned to the first position from the second position, the projection 63 of the cross-rail may readily reengage completely within channel 62 of the ring rail.

Although drive means for moving the spindle rail 15 are shown in FIG. 5, only a single spindle 17 carrying full tube 33 is shown for the sake of clarity. A pair of arcuate links are pivoted to disc crank 41 at diametrically opposed positions and on the opposite side faces thereof. When the spindle rail is in its shown second position, the opposite pivot-axes of arcuate link 42 both lie in the same horizontal plane containing the axes of the horizontal shaft 44 and the shaft 40. The shaft 40 is joumalled in a bearing block 39, mounted on the central plate 38 attached to the fixed frame 16. The horizontal shaft is journalled in a bearing mounted in the fixed frame portion 16a.

Referring to FIG. 6, a spindle rail is shown additionally supported by at least one pneumatic actuator 64 when it is in its outward, second position. The cylinder of the actuator 64 is pivoted to the fixed frame 16, and the piston rod is pivoted to spindle rail 15, so that the actuator swings about the pivot-axis of its cylinder in the plane normal to the plane defined by the spindles when the spindle rail is moved between its first and second positions.

When the spindle rail moves from the first position to the second position, air-pressure is also applied to actuator 64 so that the actuator may support the weight of the spindle rail to relieve the load on the horizontal shaft 44 and on the bearings mounted in fixed frame portion 16a.

It will be understood that the auxiliary support provided by the actuator is particularly useful for a machine having heavy, large-package spindles, and for a machine provided with anautomatic tube exchanging apparatus in which the spindle rail will be pushed down during tube exchanging with a relatively high forces.

During turning of the spindle rail 15 from the second position to the first position, the air-pressure is prefera bly discharged slowly from the actuator cylinder so as not to resist the spindle rail returning inwardly by applying a horizontal component of force.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a basic pneumatic circuit for actuating the apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. In FIG. 7, there are shown a pair of rotary actuators 43 for moving the spindle rail, a single-acting actuator 64 for auxiliary support of the spindle rail, a pressure source and control device including a threeposition, two-way valve 67 and a two'position two-way valve 68, valve 67 being used for controlling the rotary actuators 43 and valve 68 being used for controlling the actuator 64, and throttle valve 65 for controlling the rate of discharge of air from the actuator 64, and

conduits

61 and 69 for connecting the actuators 53 and 64 to the control device 60.

After the spinning machine has been stopped to permit tube exchanging, valve 68 is moved into a position in which air pressure is supplied to actuator 64 through conduit 69 from the pressure source, in order to provide auxiliary support for the spindle rail. Thereafter, valve 67 is directed to a position in which air pressure is fed to one side of each actuator 43 from the pressure source through conduit 61 in a direction in which the spindle rail is moved from the first position to the second position. When the spindle rail reaches its outward position, valve 67 is moved to its central, neutral position.

In order to return the spindle rail from its second position to its first position, valve 67 is moved to a position in which air pressure is fed to the other side of each actuator 43 from the pressure source. At the same time, valve 68 is moved to its other position in which air is discharged from single-acting cylinder actuator 64 through the throttle valve 65 at a predetermined rate.

After the spindle rail has been returned to its first position, valve 67 and valve 68 are moved to their initial position, and the machine is then ready for restarting spinning.

What is claimed is:

l. A spinning machine for forming yarn packages wound on tubes, which comprises, in combination, at least one spindle rail mounted on a fixed frame for movement between a first position for spinning and in which the spindle rail is in abutment with a part of the fixed frame and a second position spaced away from the frame, there being a row of rotatable spindles mounted on said spindle rail for carrying the tubes, drive means mounted on said fixed frame for moving the spindle rail between the first and second positions, the drive means comprising rotary actuator means and linkage means driven by the rotary actuator means, the linkage means including a shaft rotatable by the rotary actuator means, at least one crank secured to the shaft for rotation therewith, and a resiliently deformable arcuate link, having one end thereof pivoted to said crank and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the spindle rail, said crank being arranged for rotation through an angle slightly greater than 180 to cause the spindle rail to move between said first and second positions, and the arcuate link and crank together being arranged to form an over-center self-locking toggle mechanism, which holds the spindle rail, when in the first position, in abutment with the said part ofthe fixed frame with a force provided by the resilient deformation of said arcuate ink when in the over-center position of the toggle mechanism.

2. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said spindle rail is supported by at least one pair of parallel links, said parallel links being pivoted at one of their ends to said spindle rail and, at their other ends, being pivoted to said fixed frame.

3. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein two spindle rails are provided, one on each side of the machine, there being two arcuate links, one pivotably connected to each spindle rail respectively and the two links being pivoted to the crank at diametrically opposed positions respectively.

4. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotary actuator means comprise a pair of rotary actuators coaxially spaced apart, and being connected with said shaft extending coaxially therewith.

5. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein there is provided means for rotating the spindles mounted on the spindle rail, which means comprises a motor mounted on the frame and power transfer means from the motor to the spindles and comprising first and second coaxial input pulleys rotatably mounted on the spindle rail, the first input pulley being adapted to drive a tangential belt for rotating the spindles, an output pulley mounted on the fixed frame and driven by the motor, first and second coaxial intermediate pulleys, and first and second arms, the first arm being rotatably mounted on the fixed frame about an axis coaxial with the output pulley, the second arm being rotatably mounted on the spindle rail about an axis coaxial with the input pulleys, the first and second arms being pivotally connected to each other about a common axis, the intermediate pulleys being rotatably supported by the first and second arms about the said common axis, the output pulley and the first intermediate pulley being connected by a first intermediate belt, the second intermediate pulley and the second input pulley being connected by a second intermediate belt, so that power may be transmitted to the tangential belt from the motor to rotate the spindles at all positions of the spindle rail.

6. A spinning machine according to claim 5, wherein said spindle rail extends generally horizontally, and is provided with at least one horizontal member secured normal thereto, said horizontal member being slidably journalled by bearing means mounted on said fixed frame, the horizontal member having its end remote from the spindle rail pivotally connected to the said other end of the arcuate link.

7. A spinning machine according to claim 6, wherein there is provided a ring-rail extending parallel to the spindlerail and carrying a plurality of rings, the ringrail being laterally disengageably supported by lifting means for reciprocating the rings during spinning, said ring-rail having a rod secured thereto, the rod from the ring-rail slidably extending through guide means provided on the spindle rail, whereby, when the spindle rail is moved between the first and second positions, said ring-rail is moved therewith and is disengaged from the lifting means.

8. A spinning machine according to claim 7, wherein said ring rail engages a part of the spindle rail when the ring-rail is in a position nearest the spindle rail, the lifting means being movable nearest the spindle rail, so as to disengage from the ring-rail.

9. A spinning machine according to claim 6, wherein two spindle rails are provided, one on each side of the machine, there being two arcuate links, one pivotally connected to each spindle rail respectively and the two links being pivoted to the crank at diametrically opposed positions respectively.

10. A spinning machine according to claim 9, wherein the rotary actuator means comprise a pair of rotary actuators coaxially spaced apart, and being connected with said shaft extending coaxially therewith.

11. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein there is provided a ring-rail extending parallel to the spindle rail and carrying a plurality of rings, the ring-rail being laterally disengageably supported by lifting means for reciprocating the rings during spinning, said ring-rail having a rod secured thereto, the rod from the ring-rail slidably extending through guide means provided on the spindle rail, whereby, when the spindle rail is moved between the first and second positions, said ring-rail is moved therewith and is disengaged from the lifting means.

12. A spinning machine according to claim 11, wherein said ring-rail engages a part of the spindle rail when the ring-rail is in a position nearest the spindle rail, the lifting means being movable nearest the spindle rail, so as to disengage from the ring-rail.

13. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said spindle rail extends generally horizontally, and is provided with at least one horizontal member secured normal thereto, with horizontal member being slidably journalled by bearing means mounted on said fixed frame, the horizontal member having its end re mote from the spindle rail pivotally connected to the said other end of the arcuate link.

14. A spinning machine according to claim 13, wherein at least one fluid-pressure operated cylinder actuator is provided to support the spindle rail when in the second position.

15. A spinning machine according to claim 14, wherein the cylinder actuator has a cylinder portion pivoted to the fixed frame, and a piston mounted within the cylinder portion and having a piston rod pivoted to the spindle rail, said cylinder actuator being swingable about the pivot-axis of said cylinder portion in the plane perpendicular to the plane defined by the axes of said spindles during movement of the spindle rail between the first and second positions, and means being provided to admit pressurized fluid to the actuator to relieve the load on said horizontal member and the bearing means therefor during the movement of said spindle rail.

16. A spinning machine according to claim 15, wherein the one-way throttle valve is pivoted for controlling the rate of discharge of fluid from the cylinder actuator during the return of the spindle rail from its second position to its first position. I

17. A spinning machine according to claim 16, wherein the rotary actuator means and the cylinder actuator are driven from a common source of pressurized fluid.

18. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said rotary actuator means comprise at least one hydraulically operated rotary actuator.

19. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said rotary actuator means comprise at least one pneumatically operated rotary actuator.

Claims

1. A spinning machine for forming yarn packages wound on tubes, which comprises, in combination, at least one spindle rail mounted on a fixed frame for movement between a first position for spinning and in which the spindle rail is in abutment with a part of the fixed frame and a second position spaced away from the frame, there being a row of rotatable spindles mounted on said spindle rail for carrying the tubes, drive means mounted on said fixed frame for moving the spindle rail between the first and second positions, the drive means comprising rotary actuator means and linkage means driven by the rotary actuator means, the linkage means including a shaft rotatable by the rotary actuator means, at least one crank secured to the shaft for rotation therewith, and a resiliently deformable arcuate link, having one end thereof pivoted to said crank and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the spindle rail, said crank being arranged for rotation through an angle slightly greater than 180* to cause the spindle rail to move between said first and second positions, and the arcuate link and crank together being arranged to form an over-center self-locking toggle mechanism, which holds the spindle rail, when in the first position, in abutment with the said part of the fixed frame with a force provided by the resilient deformation of said arcuate inK when in the over-center position of the toggle mechanism.

7. A spinning machine according to claim 6, wherein there is provided a ring-rail extending parallel to the spindle rail and carrying a plurality of rings, the ring-rail being laterally disengageably supported by lifting means for reciprocating the rings during spinning, said ring-rail having a rod secured thereto, the rod from the ring-rail slidably extending through guide means provided on the spindle rail, whereby, when the spindle rail is moved between the first and second positions, said ring-rail is moved therewith and is disengaged from the lifting means.

13. A spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said spindle rail extends generally horizontally, and is provided with at least one horizontal member secured normal thereto, with horizontal member being slidably journalled by bearing means mounted on said fixed frame, the horizontal member having its end remote from the spindle rail pivotally connected to the said other end of the arcuate link.

16. A spinning machine according to claim 15, wherein the one-way throttle valve is pivoted for controlling the rate of discharge of fluid from the cylinder actuator during the return of the spindle rail from its second position to its first position.