Spool-charging device for automatic-winding-machine magazines

A device for charging thread spools into the magazine of an automatic winding machine which comprises, on a support frame, a bin containing the previously oriented spools and having a discharge slot flanked by a fork which grips the spools axially and removes them from the bin. One arm of the fork is provided with a frictionally driven grip while the other arm of the fork carries an electromagnet pressing an opposite grip against the opposite end of the spool into the region of a blowing funnel and an aspirator whereby a thread end is uncoiled by the gently blowing and suction action and the rotation of the spool. Another electromagnet triggers the feed of the spool along a ramp into a socket of the winding machine magazine while a pneumatic cylinder carries the uncoiled thread end to the aspirator thereof.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a device for charging automatic-winding-machine 
magazines with spools. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Devices for charging automatic-winding-machine magazines with spools of a 
stationary type are well known. These devices include a mechanism for 
arranging and orienting full spools, a mechanism for preparing the end of 
the thread beforehand by means of an aspiration mechanism, a transport 
conveyor belt for carrying the ready spools to the empty sockets of the 
winding-machine magazine and an aspiration mechanism in the magazine 
itself for picking up the thread end from the tube of the spool. 
With such devices it is necessary to prepare in advance the thread end 
which is first inserted into the case of the spool or caught by a 
removable clip for transportation to the winding-machine magazine, after 
which that same end is taken out of the tube of the spool by the clip 
carrying it, entrained by the magazine's aspiration mechanism. The use of 
a transport belt for supply of the initially prepared spools and the 
charging system itself for each winding machine make the winding machine 
construction even more complicated and expensive. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple 
removable device for charging the magazine of an automatic-winding machine 
which does not call for any reconstruction of the latter. 
It is another object of the present invention to avoid the preliminary 
insertion of the thread end into the case of the spool or its being 
entrained by a special mechanism of the transport belt for delivering it 
from the preparation station to the winding-machine magazine and its 
repeated transfer to the aspiration mechanism of the latter. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This object is resolved by hanging a removable frame carrying a casket or 
bin with preliminarily arranged and oriented spools on a support rail 
provided on an automatic-winding machine. One end of the bin is formed 
with discharge slots embraced laterally by a forklike clip with freely 
rotating jaws, the fork being displaced by a toothed rack along two 
vertical guides. An electromagnet is attached to one of the jaws of the 
fork while the other is connected with a rubber roller which is given a 
rotative motion through a continuously driven roller attached to the frame 
of the spool charging device. The fork engages the spool axially. 
When the fork is in its lower final position the spool lies between blowing 
and aspiration funnels disposed tangentially to the spool. The funnels lie 
in the same plane and move parallel to the spool axis. 
Below the fork there is an inclined ramp or trough which guides the free 
spool to the empty socket of the automatic-winding-machine magazine. 
Below the trough, to a bar hinged on the frame of the device, there is 
attached an electromagnet. The armature of the electromagnet, when engaged 
in the profiled slots of an indexing rail attached to the support rail, 
directs a pneumatic cylinder connected to the same bar in a sweeping 
motion when the spool charging device moves relative to the winding 
machine. The piston of that pneumatic cylinder ends in another fork which 
serves to lead the thread in a sweeping motion past an aspirator of the 
winding-machine magazine so that it may be more easily captured. 
Immediately above the inclined groove there is a photoreflection element 
trained along the axis of the spool sockets in the winding-machine 
magazine. The photoreflection element registers the presence of empty 
sockets in the magazine. 
An additional indexing rail is attached to the support rail of the winding 
machine, with slots formed at a spacing corresponding to the spacing at 
which the spools in the magazine are arranged. The armature of another 
electromagnet reaches into the slots in response to the photoreflection 
element in order to bring the apparatus to a stop with the trough directed 
toward an empty spool socket. 
At this point, also in response to the photoreflective element, a spool is 
advanced to the discharge slot of the bin and engaged by the jaws of the 
fork and lowered to the release position where the spool is rotated in a 
direction opposite to the winding of the thread, thereby allowing the 
thread end to be loosened by the blowing funnel and captured by the 
aspiration funnel. The spool is then released from the fork and directed 
by the trough to an empty spool socket, interrupting the light beam of the 
photoreflective element, and, in response to this, the pneumatic cylinder 
extends the other fork to engage the trailing thread. The spool charging 
device then advances along the support rail, causing the thread engaging 
fork, which is still engaged in the slot of the indexing rail, to make a 
sweeping motion, drawing the thread past the aspirator provided on the 
winding machine and captured thereby, while at the same time, the trailing 
thread still engaged by the aspirator on the spool lowering fork is 
severed. 
The advantage of this invention is that by means of one charging station 
for orientation and arrangement of the spools, one can serve a number of 
devices using to the maximum the full capacities of the charging station.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION 
The device 51 comprises a bin or box 1 mounted on a frame 18, having a 
discharge groove or slot 3 ending with pivotable plates 6. Above the 
discharge slot 3 there is a rotating toothed cylinder 5 driven by means 
not shown. The bin bottom is formed by a corrugated endless belt 4 driven 
by means not shown. 
A fork 7 has arms 7a and 7b flanking the slot 3 which is defined by slots 
in walls 1a and 1b of the bin 1. The fork 7 is displaced along vertical 
guides 12 attached to frame 18 and has on both arms 7a, 7b freely rotating 
conical jaws 8, 9, jaw 8 being connected with the armature of 
electromagnet 10 attached to one arm of fork 7 and jaw 9 having a rubber 
roller 13. Rack 11, driven by the pinion of a reversible motor 47 mounted 
on frame 18, is attached to fork 7. 
A motor 42 is mounted laterally on frame 18 and has a rubber roller 14 
which engages and frictionally drives roller 13 in the lowered position of 
fork 7. 
Leadscrews 48 and 49, parallel to guides 48a and 49a, are mounted on frame 
18 and rotated by means of reversible motors 48' and 49'. Blowing funnel 
15 and aspiration funnel 16 move along guides 48a and 49a as displaced by 
the leadscrews and in the lower final position of fork 7 that are oriented 
tangentially to spool 2. Blowing funnel 15 and aspiration funnel 16 are 
connected through air tubes 43, 43' with blower 46. 
A photoreflection element 19 is mounted on frame 18 of the device. It is 
trained so that its reflection axis 20 lies along the axis of socket 21 of 
the magazine of the winding machine 50, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1. 
A sloping trough or ramp 25 is formed below the bottom position of fork 7 
so that when the armature of electromagnet 22 attached to frame 18 engages 
slot 23 of an indexing rail 24, sloping ramp 25 is aligned with a socket 
21 in the magazine of the winding machine. Indexing rail 24 is attached 
immovably to a support rail 40 on the winding machine 50. 
A bar 32 is hinged on frame 18 adjacent support rail 40. On the upper side 
of bar 32 a pneumatic cylinder 27 is disposed, the piston 26 of which ends 
in a fork 28 used to guide thread 29 to aspirator 30. The vertical side of 
bar 32 carries electromagnet 31 whose armature is turned toward profiled 
slots 33 of indexing rail 35 rigidly connected to rail 40 of the winding 
machine 50. 
On its way to its final position, aspirator 16 approaches scissors 36 
supported on frame 18 for severing trailing thread 29. 
Electromagnet 37 is attached to frame 18. The armature of electromagnet 37 
is hinged on deviator 38 attached thereto for swinging the deviator to 
open and close aspirator 30. 
The entire device 51 is mounted on the rail 40 of the winding machine, 
moving on the latter by means of rollers 41 driven by motor 45. 
The device operates in the following way: 
Spools 2 arranged in advance in bin 1 are advanced in turn to discharge 
slot 3 by the corrugated endless tape 4 and the cylinder 5 thereabove 
which impedes, by its reverse rotation, the simultaneous passage of two 
spools through slot 3. 
At the end of slot 3, a spool 2 is positioned on plates 6 which are biased 
to support the spool so as not to allow its free discharge from bin 1. The 
spool 2, occupying an initial position at the end of groove 3 is gripped 
endwise and laterally by the fork member 7 with its freely rotating 
conical jaws 8, 9. Jaw 8 is displaced axially by electromagnet 10 which 
results in the spool being held fast. When the fork 7 moves, the gripped 
spool 2 is drawn downwardly out of the bin by rack 11 along guides 12. In 
the lower final position of the fork, jaw 9, through rubber roller 13, is 
frictionally rotated by the ever-moving rubber roller 14, to rotate spool 
2 in a direction opposite to its direction of winding. 
The air coming out of the tangentially oriented spool blowing funnel 15 
sweeps aside the free end of the thread which enters aspirator 16 and 
under the backward rotation of spool 2 and the motion of funnels 15, 16 
along guides 48a, 49a the free winding becomes untwisted. 
When photoreflection element 19 installed on frame 18 receives a signal 
from reflection axis 20 of one of the sockets 21 in the magazine, the 
armature of electromagnet 22 attached to frame 18 moves axially and 
engages the slot 23 of indexing rail 24 associated with that particular 
socket, stopping the device 51 with the ramp 25 aligned with the socket 21 
of the winding machine 50. 
Movable jaw 8 of fork 7 goes back to its initial position after which the 
free spool is guided by ramp 25 to the socket 21 of the winding machine. 
Under the effect of the vacuum created in pneumatic cylinder 27 by blower 
46 through flexible air tube 44, fork 28 extends and takes up thread 29 
and directs it to aspirator 30 of the winding machine where the resumed 
advance of the device 51 causes the fork 28 to sweep the thread 29 across 
the aspirator 30. Fork 28 is then returned to its initial position by the 
suction effect of blower 46 now directed through flexible air tube 39, 
attached to the back end of cylinder 27. 
Scissors 36 supported on frame 18 at the end of the travel of aspirator 16, 
cuts thread 29, the free end of which is drawn into aspirator 30, opened 
by deviator 38 through electromagnet 37. 
The various operations of the device 51 initiated by photoreflective 
element 19 can be controlled by standard programming devices known in the 
art or by the use of limit switches monitoring and triggering the various 
operations. 
An example of these programming devices can be seen in the drawing, in 
which a controller 52 operates the drive motor 45 to advance the device 51 
along the support rail 40 until the photoreflection device 19 detects an 
empty socket and sends a signal to the controller 52, which in turn stops 
the drive motor 45 while activating the electromagnets 22 and 31 to 
advance their respective armatures into respective slot 23 of indexing 
rail 24 and respective slot 33 of indexing rail 35, locking the device 51 
in position with the trough 25 in alignment with the empty socket. The 
signal from photoreflective device 19 also causes the controller 52 to 
activate the motors 53 and 54 to advance a spool 2 to the discharge slot 
3, where the fork 7 is in position with its arms 7a and 7b flanking the 
slot 3 with the jaws 8 and 9 in axial alignment with the spool 2, the 
controller 52 activating the electromagnet 10 to drive the jaw 8 into 
engagement with spool 2 and against the jaw 9, thereby gripping the spool. 
The motor 47 is then activated by controller 52, lowering the fork 7 with 
the captured spool 2 through the pivotable plates 6 to the bottom position 
of fork 7, triggering a limit switch 55, which sends a signal to the 
controller to deactivate motor 47 and to activate motors 48' and 49'. 
Motors 48' and 49' drive respective leadscrews 48 and 49 to advance the 
aspiration funnel 15 and blower funnel 16 along the length of spool 2, 
capturing the loose thread end therefrom and delivering it to the scissors 
36, the funnel 16 triggering limit switch 56, which sends a signal to the 
controller to deactivate electromagnet 10 and release spool 2, and to stop 
motors 48' and 49'. 
The released spool 2 is guided by trough 25 to the empty socket 21, 
interrupting the light beam of photoreflective device 19 which signals the 
controller to start a sequence in which: a solenoid switching valve 57 
opens flexible vacuum line 44, causing the fork 28 to extend and engage 
the thread 29; the drive motor 45 is activated to advance the device 51; 
the electromagnet 37 is activated to move deviator 38 to open aspirator 30 
while the motion of device 51 causes fork 28 to swing the thread 29 past 
aspirator 30 to be captured thereby; the scissors 36 are activated to cut 
thread 29; switching valve 57 closes line 44 and opens vacuum line 39 to 
withdraw fork 28; motors 48' and 49' are reversed to return funnels 15 and 
16 to the starting position, where another limit switch 56' deactivates 
these motors; and the motor 47 is reversed to return the fork 7 to the 
upper position, where a limit switch 55' deactivates motor 41. The device 
51 continues to advance along support rail 40 until another empty socket 
21 is detected by photoreflective device 19 and the entire sequence is 
repeated.