BARRIER-WALL DEVICE FOR SUBDIVIDING AMOUNTS OF PIRNS ACCUMULATED IN BULK

Abstract: A device is disclosed, which is useful for subdividing and diluting an accumulated amount of pirns in bulk, which comprises a chute (14) positioned between a pirn container (4), and a conveyor belt (8). This latter is prearranged to transfer and meter a limited number of pirns. Along said chute, at least one barrier wall (2) is provided, which can move along a vertical (18), or substantially vertical, direction, and is driven by a drive source (10), whose enabling is commanded by a level sensor located downstream the same barrier wall. A plurality of movable barrier walls, following each other, transversely prearranged along the chute relatively to the pirn falling motion, can be used. Each barrier wall results to be driven by a drive source, whose enabling is commanded by a level sensor located downstream the same barrier wall.

Description: The present invention relates to a device suitable for subdividing and diluting an amount of pirns accumulated in bulk, in order to prearrange said pirns on a limited number of metering and transferring means. These latter can be belt means, or anyawy conveyor means provided with continuous, or intermittent, motion, capable of delivering to the downstream-located means, a limited number of pirns. Herein in the following, exclusive reference to the spinning pirns will be made, it being understood that the device of the invention can also be used for tubes, or, anyway, for axially symmetrical bodies supplied, as an accumulated amount, to the chute. In the textile field, in order to automatically feed the operating fronts of winding machines, e.g., automatic coner machines, the main problems are two: taking the pirns from a container, wherein they are stored in bulk, and positioning them, at a high enough speed, on the travelling distributor means, in order to be able to meet the requirements of the many winding stations positioned closely approached to each other. Storing the pirns in bulk inside container boxes simplifies the storage operations at the spinning manufacturing bays, but makes it necessary to perform suitable operations of dilution and singling at the winding bays. Said operations must be reliable and fast within the purview of an integral factory automation. During the winding process, the winding operating front continuously requires new pirns from the travelling distributor. This latter receives pirns prearranged and prepared for the unwinding. As a consequence, the container boxes, containing the pirns coming from the spinning bays are continuously sent to the lifting device, which, by lifting and tilting said container boxes, makes the pirns come together on a chute. During the tilting action, the pirns fall down, as an accumulated amount, from the container box on the chute, along which they slide down, due to gravity, to come, all together, without any limiting controls, on the metering belt. As a consequence of the above, damages occur in the yarn wound on the pirns, due to the excessive friction by superimposition, which, in its turn, causes the yarn turns to shift in such ways that the free ends of the yarn on the pirns get entangled with one another. Such tangles cause considerable difficulties when the individual pirns are separated from one another. Finally, also the drawback occurs, that different amounts of exiting pirns appear at each progressing actuation of the metering belt, according to the accumulated amount present on said belt. A further drawback, on the basis of the above considerations, is due to the fact that the tangling of the yarns with one another, in a large accumulated amount of pirns, causes a union block, which prevents the pirns laying on said metering belt from leaving it; it derives therefrom that the downstream conveyor systems are not fed with pirns. Obstacles in transfer like these, as above mentioned, even if they are reduced to a small percentage incidence, assume, due to the high production speed of the present textile machines, a considerable importance, due to the delays which they cause in the subsequent steps of the production cycle. The purpose of the present invention is overcoming such drawbacks of the prior art. In accordance therewith, the present invention relates to an improved device for subdividing and diluting an accumulated amount of pirns in bulk, which fall down, by tilting, from a container box, on a chute, wherein provided with at least one movable barrier wall is provided, which can move along a vertical, or substantially vertical, direction, and is driven by a drive source. This latter is enabled by a level sensor located downstream the same barrier wall. Said movable barrier wall performs the function of limiting the entrance and the falling down of the pirns, a desired amount of which is laid on the metering belt. This latter can be given the structure of a continuous flat belt, of a slate-belt, or can be provided with variously shaped protrusions. In order to improve the performance of the device of the present invention, a plurality of movable barrier walls, following each other, can be prearranged, such to partition and dilute the accumulated amount of pirns with a higher precision, within the purview of a mutual coordination and cooperation of sequential movements; and, finally, by means of such improvement variant, the result is obtained that the pirns stored in bulk come to deposit themselves on the metering and conveyor belt in rather lined-up positions, thus avoiding the risk of the presence of pirns in a considerably oblique position. In accordance with the above, according to a preferred form of practical embodiment, the device of the present invention is equipped with a plurality of movable barrier walls prearranged, following each other, along the chute, and capable of moving along a vertical, or substantially vertical, direction, each of said movable barrier walls being associated with a lever sensor provided downstream said movable barrier wall. Each movable barrier wall is actuated, in coordinated cooperation with the other movable barrier walls, by a drive source, which will be enabled by its own level sensor. The present invention is now explained by referring to the hereto attached drawing tables, wherein: Figure 1 is a side diagram showing pirns falling or sliding, due to gravity, along the metering and conveyor belt, with the movable barrier wall being in its lowest sunk, no-interference, position. The pirns are being deposited on said metering belt. Figure 2 is a side diagram showing an already tilted container box for pirns in bulk, wherein said pirns, due to gravity prearrange themselves in accumulation throughout the chute, and press against the barrier constituted by the movable barrier wall, which is in its highest-lifted position. Figure 3 is a side diagram showing the variant containing a plurality of movable barrier walls, following each other, to better carry out the dilution of the pirns. Figure 4 is a side diagram of an operative variant of the solution displayed in Figure 3. In the Figures, equal elements, or elements performing same or equivalent functions are indicated by the same reference numerals. In them: 2 is the movable barrier wall provided with the possibility of vertically moving, under the direct action of a pneumatic actuator, or of other similar actuators known from the art; 3 is a movable barrier wall, also provided with the possibility of vertically moving, under the direct action of a pneumatic actuator, or of other similar actuators known from the art; 4 is the container box for pirns stored in bulk at the spinning bays; 5 is a movable barrier wall provided with the possibility of vertically moving, in coordinated sequence of movement with the other movable barrier walls the device is equipped with; 6 is the spinning pirn stored inside the container boxes 4 at the spinning bays; 8 is the metering and conveyor belt on which the pirns are deposited, in the desired amount, to be delivered, in a limited numer, to the downstream conveyor means, wherein the pirns appear in mutually lined-up positions, following each other, to the taking unit of the free-yarn-end-seeking device. Said belt can be given the structure of a continuous flat belt, of a slate-belt, or it can be provided with variously shaped protrusions. 10 is a pneumatic actuator, or a similar device, which controls the vertical shifting of the movable barrier wall 2; 11 is a pneumatic actuator, or a similar device, which controls the vertical shifting of the movable barrier wall 3; 12 is the track of the chain, or of a similar kinematic element, which operates within the device controlling the lifting and tilting of the container box 4; 13 is a pneumatic actuator, or a similar device, which controls the vertical shifting of the movable barrier wall 5; 14 is a chute along which the pirns 6 slide, by gravity, from the box container 4 down to the metering belt 8; 16 is the arrow showing the direction along which the pirns 6 frontally fall from up downwards, when they leave the metering belt 8, along the chute 24, to be conveyed to the housing chamber 32, from which they are individually taken by a conveyor belt equipped with trays, not shown herein, in that it is known from the prior art; 18 is the arrow showing the direction of lifting of the movable barrier wall 2 under the action of the actuator stem 10; 20 is the arrow showing the direction of lowering of the movable barrier wall 2 under the action of the actuator stem 10; 22 is the arrow showing the direction of revolution for the tilting of the container box 4 bearing the accumulated amount of pirns 27; 24 is the high-slope chute conveying the pirns, by gravity, from the metering belt 8 to the housing chamber 32; 26 is the accumulated amount of pirns, which stop along the chute 14, due to the effect of the barrier action performed by the movable barrier wall 2; 27 is the accumulated amount of pirns stored in bulk inside the container box 4; 28 is the arrow showing the direction of falling of the accumulated amount of pirns along the chute 14; 29 is an intermediate accumulated amount of pirns, which forms along a length of the chute 14, due to the barrier effect of the movable barrier wall 3, positioned in its highest-lifted position; 30 is an optical sensor, or an equivalent sensor, which is capable of controlling, moment by moment, the level of the pirns 6 laying on the metering and conveyor belt 8. Said sensor 30, of optical, or electrical, or mechanical nature, of formed by a combination of two, or more, of such types, is a level sensor known from the prior art. It will command the enabling, in the presence of a minimum, or maximum, amount of pirns 6 laying on the metering belt 8, of the drive source of the actuator 10 which respectively actuates the sinking, or the lifting, of the movable barrier wall 2; 31 is an optical sensor, or an equivalent sensor, which is capable of controlling, moment by moment, the level of the pirns 6 upstream the movable barrier wall 2. It will command the enabling of the drive source of the actuator 11, which respectively actuates the sinking, or the lifting, of the movable barrier wall 3; 32 is a housing chamber located at the lower end of the chute 24. Said chamber houses a limited number of pirns necessary for filling the tray compartments of a conveyor, or lifter means, known from the prior art. 33 is an optical sensor, or an equivalent sensor, which is capable of controlling, moment by moment, the level of the pirns 6 upstream the movable barrier wall 3. It will command the enabling of the drive source of the actuator 13, which respectively actuates the sinking, or the lifting, of the movable barrier wall 5; 34 is the variable-slope sliding chute of the pirns 6 during the tilting step; it also represents one of the side walls of the container box 4. The operation of the device according to the present invention is now disclosed. During the operation of an automatic coner machine, the many winding stations take the pirns from the travelling distributor. Simultaneously, signals are sent, which enable the drive source which drives the metering belt 8, which progresses and consigns the pirns to the downstream device, until the demand for pirns is met. If, during said time of actuation of the metering belt 8, the level of the pirns laying on said belt 8 decreases below a predetermined and prearranged level, the optical sensor 30 detects such decrease, and immediately enables the drive source of the actuator 10, which actuates the movable barrier wall 2 making it sink, according to the direction shown by the arrow 20. The accumulated amount of pirns 26, resting on the chute 14, not any longer finding the barrier constituted by the movable barrier wall 2 which, as said, has been moved downwards, slides, falling down, by gravity, on the metering and conveyor belt 8. As soon as the level of the accumulated amount of pirns on the metering belt 8 exceeds the above-mentioned prearranged value, the optical sensor 30 gets obscured. A signal starts immediately, which enables the drive source of the actuator 10, which actuates the movable barrier wall 2 making it go up, according to the direction shown by the arrow 18. The falling down and sliding of the pirns 6 stops against the barrier formed by the movable barrier wall 2, and the accumulated amount of pirns 26 is reconstituted on the chute 14. On the metering and conveyor belt 8 a level is restored, which is higher than the minimum prearranged level, and such restored level will be sufficient to continue to feed, for a certain time interval, the downstream devices, from which the requests for spinning pirns 6 have been sent. The metering and conveyor belt 8 will repeat its advancing cycles in order to meet the requests for pirn 6 supply. Said pirns feed the housing chamber 32 through the chute 24. In case the accumulated amount of pirns is small, such that after the lowering of the movable barrier wall 2 the minimum level of pirns on the metering and conveyor belt 8 is not reached, the optical sensor 30, by being not obscured within a programmable and pre-established time interval, sends a signal which enables the drive source performing the tilting of the container box 4. This latter is lifted and tilted through a pre-determined angle, with the accumulated amount of pirns 27, stored inside it, being obliged to slide down, by gravity, along the chute 14 and to feed, during their falling down, the metering belt 8, in that the movable barrier wall 2 is sunk down. As soon as the pirn 6 level reaches the pre-­ established and preset level, the optical sensor 30 gets obscured and sends a signal which enables the drive source of the actuator 10, which actuates the movable barrier wall 2, making it lift according to the direction shown by the arrow 18. The lifting and the tilting rotation of the container box 4 proceeds until the plane 34 of the same box container assumes the same slope as of the chute 14, or a slightly higher slope. In as much as the movable barrier wall 2 performs a storage function, in that it generates the accumulation of an amount of pirns 26 of a certain value, the box container 4, after reaching its highest tilting position, is made descend, and is replaced by a new container filled with pirns, while the amount of pirns 26 accumulated on the chute 14 persists to lay on said chute. In this way, the supply of pirns 6 to the metering and conveyor belt 8 during the operating step of container box 4 change is secured. A plurality of movable barrier walls can be provided, as it appears from the illustrative Examples shown in Figures 3 and 4. According to such variant, when the level of the pirns 6 on the metering and conveyor belt 8 obscures the optical sensor 30, the movable barrier walls 2 and 5 are lifted, and the movable barrier wall 3 is lowered. Upstream the movable barrier wall 2, there is the presence of the accumulated amount of pirns 26, while the amount of pirns 27 accumulated inside the container box 4 is retained by the movable barrier wall 5. When the level of the pirns 6 on the metering belt 8 sinks under the minimum level, the optical sensor 30 enables the drive source of the actuator 11, which actuates the movable barrier wall 3 to move upwards, while the drive sources of the actuators 10 and 13 are enabled, to actuate the lowering of their respective movable barrier walls 2 and 5. After that, the accumulated amount of pirns 26 runs downwards to feed the metering belt 8, and the accumulated amount 27, coming from the container box 4, spreads on the chute 14, until it stops and accumulates against the movable barrier wall 3, which performs it barrier function. Upstream said movable barrier wall 3, an intermediate amount of pirns 29 is accumulated (see figure 3). Now, the drive source of the actuator 11 is enabled, which actuates the sinking of the movable barrier wall 3, and simultaneously the drive sources of the actuators 10 and 13 are enabled, which actuate the lifting of their respective movable barrier walls 2 and 5, such to restore the initial configuration as shown in Figure 4. Then, the intermediate accumulated amount of pirns runs downwards, by gravity, along the chute 14, coming to stop, and accumulate, against the movable barrier wall 2, reconstituting the accumulated amount of pirns 26, while the movable barrier wall 5 retains the amount of pirns 27 still accumulated inside the container box 4. It is possible as well to prearrange optical level sensors inside the areas comprised between the movable barrier walls 3 and 5, and between the movable barrier walls 2 and 3, such that the sinking action ang the lifting action of one of the above said movable barrier walls upstream an optical sensor is driven in a similar way to as above disclosed, by the optical sensor 30. According to this improvement variant, the movable barrier wall 5 is driven to sink by the action of the drive source of the actuator 13, which is enabled when the optical sensor 33 detects a level of pirns 6, between the movable barrier wall 3 and the movable barrier wall 5, which is lower than the value of the minimum preset value. In a similar way, the movable barrier wall 3 is driven to sink by the action of the drive source of the actuator 11, which is enabled when the optical sensor 31 detects a level of pirns 6, between the movable barrier wall 2 and the movable barrier wall 3, which is lower than the value of the minimum preset value. In a similar way, the movable barrier wall 2 is driven to sink by the action of the drive source of the actuator 10, which is enabled when the optical sensor 30 detects a level of pirns 6, on the metering and conveyor belt 8, which is lower than the value of the minimum preset value. The lifting of each movable barrier wall back to its lifted position is commanded when the respective optical level sensors are obscured again by the pirns 6. It should be observed that, although the present invention has been disclosed by means of the application of either one or three movable barrier walls, the number of such dividing and diluting movable barrier walls can be made equal to 2, or 4, or more, without thereby going out of the scope of the invention. A preferred solution, with some variants thereof, is herein disclosed, but other solutions are anyway possible.

Claims: 1. Device for subdividing and diluting an amount of pirns accumulated in bulk, which comprises a chute, positioned between a tilting pirn container box, and a metering and conveyor belt, characterized in that it is provided with at least ome movable barrier wall provided with the possibility of vertically, or substantially vertically, moving, which is driven by a drive source whose enabling is commanded by a level sensor installed downstream the same barrier wall. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a plurality of movable barrier walls prearranged after each other along the chute, and provided with the possibility of vertically, or substantially vertically, moving, with each of said movable barrier walls being associated with a lever sensor installed downstream said barrier wall, and being actuated, in coordinated cooperation with the other barrier walls, by a drive source, whose enabling is commanded by its level sensor.

Inventors: BADIALI, ROBERTO, COLLI, LUIGI, PASUT, CLAUDIO
Applicants: SAVIO S.P.A.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65H67
IPC codes: B65H67