AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR CHANGING ROLLS IN A SPINNING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE FIBRES

Abstract: In a spinning machine (1) for textile fibres, particularly for spinning carded fibres, the replacement of used cylinders (4) with corresponding full cylinders (11) is carried out by the simultaneous arrangement of the roves (40) of the rolls (13) of each full cylinder (11) in positions beside the corresponding roves (4a) of the spinning lines (5) which connect the rolls (12) of the respective used cylinder (4) to the respective terminal spindles (7), the detachment of the roves (4a) of each used cylinder (4) from the spinning line (5), and the joining to the latter of the roves (40) of the respective full cylinder (11). The joining of the roves (4a) of each used cylinder (4) is achieved by the relative displacement between a bar (37) which extends in front of the spinning machine (1) parallel to the used cylinder (4) and above the respective drawing units (6), and corresponding blocks (36) provided on the bar (37) in order to clamp the end section (42) near the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) to the bar (37) in a position beside the rove (4a) of the corresponding spinning line (5). The roves (4a) of the used cylinders (4) are detached from the corresponding spinning lines (5) upstream of the joining zone by the reversal of the sense of rotation of the used cylinder (4) before the aforesaid relative displacement is started.

Description: The present invention relates to spinning machines for spinning textile fibres of any type, particularly for spinning carded fibres, in which the spinning machine is supplied with one or more roves, and in which a plurality of roves wound in the form of so-called "rolls" is supplied to spinning devices adapted to subject the roves to drawing and twisting. In spinning machines of this type, when the rolls which supply the roves are used up, there is a need to replace them with new rolls. In particular, in machines for spinning carded wool, variable numbers of rolls are generally wound onto supporting rods and, together with the latter, form the so-called "cylinder". Thus, each rove, coming from its respective roll, is supplied from the cylinder to the drawing and twisting device along a corresponding spinning line and is then wound onto the respective spindle situated at the end of the spinning line. When the cylinder which is being spun has fulfilled its function, in that its constituent rolls are almost completely unwound, it is necessary to replace this used cylinder with another which is still full, also known as the new cylinder. In order to achieve this replacement, it is thus necessary previously to arrange a full cylinder in a parking position beside the used cylinder. After the machine has been stopped, it is then necessary to detach the respective roves supplied by the used cylinder from the spinning lines and to join up in their places the roves from the full cylinder intended to replace the used one. According to the known techniques which are normally used, all these operations are carried out manually by an operator. Unless several operators are used at the same time, therefore, the detachment of the roves from the used cylinder and the joining of those from the full cylinder are carried out sequentially, one at a time, after the spinning machine has been stopped. Since the spinning machines normally include several spinning sections, each of which includes a feed cylinder, the cylinder-changing operation generally involves a fairly long stoppage of the spinning machine. In order to avoid this problem, it is necessary wholly or partly to automate the above-described operations and also to arrange the time sequence of these operations so as to reduce the stoppage time of the machines as much as possible. A spinning machine in which the problem of reducing the stoppage times has been tackled is described in Belgian patent No. 698218. This patent describes means for positioning the full cylinder in its parking position and means for holding the ends of the roves supplied by the full cylinder in predetermined positions, the ends being brought into positions adjacent the roves of the respective spinning lines at the end of the changeover. The patent cited, however, describes neither means for the joining of the roves of the full cylinder to the corresponding spinning lines, nor means for causing the detachment from the latter of the roves supplied by the used cylinder. The operations for the preliminary positioning of the full cylinder and of the ends of the respective roves may, however, be carried out whilst the spinning is going on and do not therefore require the stoppage of the spinning machine. The joining of the roves of the full cylinder to the corresponding spinning lines and the detachment therefrom of the roves supplied by the used cylinder, on the other hand, are operations which necessarily require the stoppage of the spinning machine. The object of the present invention is to produce a spinning machine in which the above operations for the joining of the corresponding roves to the respective spinning lines and their detachment therefrom are carried out automatically, that is, without the direct intervention of the operator. Since the stoppage time of the spinning machine must be reduced to the minimum, the technical problem which must be addressed and resolved is not only that of achieving the mechanical joining of a single rove to the respective spinning line and its detachment therefrom, but the more complex problem of achieving the substantially simultaneous joining of all the roves of the full cylinder and the substantially simultaneous detachment of all the roves of the used cylinder. In order to achieve this object and resolve the above technical problem, the subject of the invention is a device for automatically achieving, in a spinning machine for spinning textile fibres of any type, particularly for spinning carded fibres, in which the spinning machine is supplied by one or more roves, the detachment from the respective spinning lines of the roves supplied by the used cylinder arranged on the spinning machine in an operative supply position and rotated for unwinding by a mechanism which is driven by a motor unit, and the corresponding joining of the roves supplied by a full cylinder arranged on the spinning machine in an initial parking position and intended to replace the used cylinder in the operative supply position, the device comprising means for holding the ends of the roves supplied by the full cylinder in a predetermined position and means for the bringing together and joining of the end of each rove of the full cylinder and the rove of the respective spinning line, characterised in that the means for the bringing together and joining of the end of each rove of the full cylinder and the rove of the respective spinning line comprise a flat support on which the roves of the spinning lines are laid at the moment of bringing together, means for bringing the end of each rove of the full cylinder into a position beside and in contact with the rove of the respective spinning line on the flat support, clamping means for clamping the end of each rove of the full cylinder against the rove of the respective spinning line under pressure on the flat support, means for causing ― upstream of the joining zone ― the detachment of the roves supplied by the used cylinder from the respective spinning lines, and means for causing a relative sliding movement between the flat support and the clamping means in a direction transverse the roves which are beside each other, to cause the end of each rove of the full cylinder to be wound round and thus joined to the rove of the respective spinning line. The invention will now be described with reference to a preferred practical embodiment illustrated in the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a spinning machine provided with the device according to the invention, Figures 2 and 3 are partial views of the device of Figure 1 in different operating positions, Figure 4 is a partial view taken on the arrow IV of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, Figure 6 is a detail taken on the arrow VI of Figure 5, on an enlarged scale. Figure 7 is a partial side view taken on the arrow VII of Figure 5, Figure 8 is a view of a detail of Figure 4, on an enlarged scale, Figure 9 is a simplified schematic view of a detail of Figure 5, Figure 10 is a simplified view taken on the arrow X of Figure 9, Figure 11 is a simplified view of two roves joined together, Figure 12 is a view of a reversible motor unit for the device according to the invention, Figure 13 is a view of a detail of Figure 2, on an enlarged scale. A machine for spinning carded wool is indicated 1 and comprises a fixed base frame 2 housing within it the motor unit which operates the spinning machine. A "used" cylinder, or more precisely a cylinder that is being used, which carries the "rolls" of thread intended to be subjected to a drawing and twisting operation, bears on a rotary operating roller, indicated 3. The cylinder 4 is guided and held in position by slots 3a which cooperate with end pins of the cylinder 4. The rove 4a of each roll of the cylinder 4 is fed along a spinning line 5 to a corresponding drawing and twisting unit 6 and is subsequently wound onto a corresponding spindle 7 situated at the end of the respective spinning line 5. A transporter unit 8 is situated on the upper part of the spinning machine 1 and includes a linear conveyor 9. Two vertical support shafts supported by the conveyor 9 are indicated 10 and have hook-shaped appendages 10a at their lower ends. A full cylinder 11 is suspended from the support shafts 10. This cylinder 11 comprises a rod 12 onto which a plurality of rolls 13 are wound for connection to the spinning line 5. At each of its lateral ends, the rod 12 has a pin 14 which is coupled with the hook-shaped end 10a of the shaft 10 carried by the conveyor 9. Two rigid arms, indicated 15, which are side by side, are keyed to a shaft 16 carried rotatably by the fixed structure of the transporter device 8 and rotated by known means, for example, hydraulic jacks or the like, not illustrated. Each arm 15 is provided with an inclined and bent guide plate which forms a supporting seat 17 for engaging the end pins 14 of the rod 12 of the full cylinder 11. The supporting seat 17 is V-shaped in cross-section and includes a first section 17a and a second section 17b which is inclined to the first. Each arm 15 also has a bent terminal part 18 on the end of which a plate 19 is situated. A support structure, indicated 20, is provided with two arms 20a fixed firmly to a shaft 21 carried rotatably by the rigid frame of the device 8 and also rotated by known means, not illustrated. The arms 20a are connected by a cross bar 22 on which clamps 23 are fixed. Each clamp 23 carries a gripper 24 on its front face. The gripper 24 comprises an articulated jaw 25 supported by the respective clamp 23 for rotation about an articulation axis 26. The articulated jaw 25 is provided with two engagement faces 27 and 28 which cooperate with two corresponding fixed seats 29 and 30 of a magnetic plate 31. The articulated jaw 25 has an end appendage 32 formed in a position adjacent the engagement face 27. Each clamp 23 has a thread guide 33 in a position opposite the jaw 25 and constituted by a bent and shaped plate provided with a notch which has an initial V-shaped entry section 34. A C-shaped plate, indicated 35, holds a rubber block 36 tightly against the respective clamp 23. In a position intermediate the rotary roller 3 and the drawing unit 6, the spinning machine 1 also has an elongate bar 37 which is T-shaped in section and whose upper face is covered by a rubber strip 38 forming a flat support or base. The bar 37 can slide longitudinally in both directions and its translational movement is effected by a tie-rod 39a driven by an actuator 39. The bar 37 also has pins 37a on its front face, each of which cooperates with the end appendage 32 of a respective articulated jaw 25. The rove of each roll 13 of the full cylinder is indicated 40 and the end of the rove 40 is indicated 41. The end section of the rove 40 near the end 41 is indicated 42. The roller 3 is driven by a shaft 43 by means of a drive and reversing unit 44 which receives drive from a motor unit 45. The drive and reversing unit 44 has a gear 46 which is rotated in the sense corresponding to the unwinding of the cylinder 4 which supplies the roves of the spinning line 5. The unit 44 also includes a second gear 47 which receives drive from a gear 49 by means of a chain 48. The gear 47 is rotated in the opposite sense to the gear 46. A flange 50 provided with frontal dog clutches 51 and 52 is interposed between the gear 46 and the gear 47. The flange 50 can be displaced parallel to itself by an operating fork 53. The flange 50 can thus be brought into engagement with the gear 46 by means of the clutch 51 or with the gear 47 by means of the clutch 52, so that it can be rotated in one sense of rotation or the other. The flange 50 is coupled torsionally to the shaft 43 and transmits the rotary drive thereto. The device operates as follows. At the start of the operations, the cylinder 4 is in its operative supply position in which the roves coming from its rolls supply the corresponding spinning lines 5. Whilst the spinning machine is operating, the conveyor, with its two shafts 10, supplies a full cylinder 11 and places it in a position above the cylinder 4 which is being unwound. The spinning machine 1 generally includes several spinning sections, each of which is provided with a cylinder 4 whose rolls supply respective spinning lines 5 to respective drawing unit 6 spindles 7 through corresponding drawing units: in this case, the conveyor 9 supplies a full cylinder 11 in correspondence with each cylinder 4. Whilst the spinning machine is operating, the rigid arms 15 of each section of the spinning machine are raised until the first section 17a of the inclined support seat 17 is brought into engagement with the relative end pin 14 carried by the rod 12 of the respective cylinder 11. The pins 14 of the cylinder 11 are thus raised so that they are disengaged from the hooked ends 10a of the vertical shafts 10 of the conveyor 9. The pins 14 then slide along the section 17a and are positioned in correspondence with the junction between the sections 17a and 17b of the seat 17 (as shown in broken outline in Figure 13). Thus, the cylinder 11 can subsequently be lowered by the rigid arms 15 into a parking position, shown in Figure 3, without interfering with the hooks 10a. The operator takes the rove 40 of each roll 13 of the full cylinder 11, passes it through the thread guide 33 carried by the respective clamp 23, and clamps its end 41 by means of the corresponding articulated jaw 25. In this position, the jaw 25 clamps the end 41 of the corresponding rove 40 between its engagement face 27 and the corresponding fixed seat 29 of the respective magnetic plate 31. The end section 42 of the rove 40 is thus arranged in a predetermined position fixed by the guiding action of the thread guide 33 in combination with the clamping action of the jaw 25. This operation is repeated for the rove 40 of each roll 13. At the end of this operation, therefore, all the ends 41 of the roves from the rolls 13 of the full cylinder 11 are clamped by respective corresponding jaws 25. When the rolls of each cylinder 4 which is being unwound are almost finished and each cylinder 4 is therefore used up, the operator intervenes by stopping the spinning machine. At this point, the support structure 20 which carries the grippers 24 with the respective jaws 25 is lowered by the action of drive means until the grippers have moved down onto the elongate bar 37. During the last stage of the descent of the structure 20, each of the various thread guides 33 engages the rove of the corresponding spinning line 5. The action of the thread guide 33 causes the rove of the corresponding spinning line 5 to be bent so that it lies on the rubber strip 38 carried by the elongate bar 37. All the roves 4a of all the spinning lines thus lie on the strip 38 in positions beside the corresponding end sections 42 of the respective roves 40 from the full cylinder. The end section 42 of each rove 40 of the full cylinder is urged by the rubber block 36 against the corresponding rove of the respective spinning line 5 and is clamped to the strip 38 together therewith. The roller 3 is rotated in the opposite sense, that is, clockwise with reference to Figure 1, by the operation of the reversing device of the drive unit 44 to cause the detachment of the rove 4a of each roll of the used cylinder 4 from the spinning line 5. The rigid arms 15 are lowered further and their respective end plates 19 come into contact with the end pins of the rod of the used cylinder 4 to cause its ejection. The rod 12 of the used cylinder falls into a rear transporter and is conveyed by the latter to a suitable container. At the same time, the end pins 14 of the full cylinder 11 come into contact with the guide slots 3a, causing the pins to be disengaged from the corresponding rigid arms 15. The cylinder 11 moves down into contact with the roller 3, guided by the slots 3a. The operator operates the actuator 39 to cause the translation of the bar 37 towards the left in Figure 8. The pins 37a carried by the bar 37 engage the corresponding appendages 32 of the respective articulated jaws 25, thus causing the relative grippers 24 to open. Each gripper 24 brings its engagement face 28 into contact with the corresponding fixed seat 30 of the respective magnetic plate 31 and is thus held in the open position. The longitudinal displacement of the bar 37 simultaneously causes the roves 42 and 5 which are beside each other to be twisted around each other, as illustrated in Figure 11. The rigid arms 15 and the structure 20 which carries the grippers 24 are raised into their respective starting positions (Fig. 13). The spinning lines 5, which unwind from the full cylinder now positioned in the supply position in place of the used cylinder 4, are now reset by the restarting of the spinning machine 1. These operations for the changing of the cylinders in spinning machines with several spinning sections are obviously carried out simultaneously in all the various sections by a single operator, the used cylinder 4 being replaced in each of them by a corresponding full cylinder 11.

Claims: 1. A device for automatically achieving, in a spinning machine for spinning textile fibres of any type, particularly for spinning carded fibres, in which the spinning machine is supplied by one or more roves, the detachment from the respective spinning lines of the roves supplied by the used cylinder arranged on the spinning machine in an operative supply position and rotated for unwinding by a mechanism which is driven by a motor unit, and the corresponding joining of the roves supplied by a full cylinder arranged on the spinning machine in an initial parking position and intended to replace the used cylinder in the operative supply position, the device comprising means for supporting the ends of the roves supplied by the full cylinder in a predetermined position and means for the bringing together and joining of the end of each rove of the full cylinder and the rove of the respective spinning line, characterised in that the means for the bringing together and joining of the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) and the rove of the respective spinning line (5) comprise: a flat support (37, 38) on which the roves of the spinning lines (5) are laid at the moment of bringing together; means for bringing the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) into a position beside and in contact with the rove of the respective spinning line (5) on the flat support (37, 38); clamping means (20, 36) for clamping the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) against the rove of the respective spinning line (5) under pressure on the flat support (37, 38); means for causing ― upstream of the joining zone ― the detachment of the roves (4a) supplied by the used cylinder (4) from the respective spinning lines (5), and means (39) for causing a relative sliding movement between the flat support (37, 38) and the clamping means (20, 36) in a direction transverse the roves (5, 40) which are beside each other, to cause the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) to be wound around and thus joined to the rove of the respective spinning line (5). 2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the means for clamping the end (41) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) against the rove of the respective spinning line (5) under pressure on the flat support (37, 38) comprise at least one opposing block (36) which is urged against the flat support (37, 38) so as to clamp thereon the end of each rove of the respective spinning line (5). 3. A device according to Claim 2, characterised in that the flat support (37, 38) is constituted by a single elongate flat support base (37, 38) on which all the roves of the spinning lines (5) supplied by the used cylinder (4) are arranged during the joining. 4. A device according to Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the means (39) for causing the relative sliding movement transverse the superposed roves (5, 40) comprise a two-directional translation mechanism (39a) which engages the flat support base (37, 38) and makes it slide parallel to itself in one direction to achieve the joining of the roves (5, 40) and then ― when the joining has taken place and after the release of the clamping means ― in the opposite direction to return the base (37, 38) to its initial position. 5. A device according to Claim 4, characterised in that each opposing block (36) and the cooperating flat base (37, 38) have facing surfaces with a high coefficient of sliding friction. 6. A device according to Claim 5, characterised in that the facing surfaces of each opposing block (36) and of the cooperating flat base (37) are covered with elastomeric material (38). 7. A device according to one of the preceding Claims 1 to 6, in which the means for holding the ends of the roves supplied by the full cylinder in a predetermined position comprise a plurality of mechanical grippers arranged side by side on a support structure, characterised in that each gripper (24) is provided with a respective thread guide (33), also carried by the support structure (20) upstream of the gripper (24), for holding the end section (42) of the corresponding rove (40) supplied by the full cylinder (11) transversely in a given arrangement, the support structure (20) being provided with means which lower it ― at the moment of joining ― until the end section (42) of each rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) is brought into contact with the rove of the respective spinning line (5) in correspondence with the support base or plane (37, 38), the thread guide (33) of each gripper (24) engaging the rove of the respective spinning line (5) in the final section of its downward travel and placing the latter on the adjacent support base or plane (37, 38) to align the roves (5, 40) to be joined in positions alongside each other. 8. A device according to Claim 7, characterised in that a corresponding opposing block (36), also carried by the support structure (20), is situated between each gripper (24) and the respective thread guide (33). 9. A device according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, characterised in that each mechanical gripper (24) is constituted by an articualted jaw (25) which cooperates with a magnetic plate (31) by means of two different engagement faces (27, 28) which enable the jaw (25) to be held respectively in a closed position, in which the end (41) of the respective rove (40) of the full cylinder (11) is gripped by the jaw (25, 27) against a fixed seat (29) of the magnetic plate (31), and in an open position defined by the engagement of the jaw (25, 28) with another narrow seat (30) of the plate (31), in which the end is released, means being provided for opening the gripper (24) and causing the jaw (25) to move from its closed position to its open position when the roves (5, 40) supplied by the full cylinder (11) and those of the corresponding spinning lines (5) are aligned in a position alongside each other. 10. A device according to Claim 9, characterised in that the means for opening the grippers (24) are constituted by a plurality of pins (37a) fixed firmly to the support base or plane (37, 38) and each cooperating with a respective gripper (24), each pin (37a) being carried ― by the relative sliding movement between the support base or plane (37, 38) and the corresponding opposing blocks (36) ― into engagement with the articulated jaw (25) of the respective gripper (24) to cause its movement from the closed position to the open position. 11. A device according to one of the preceding Claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the means for causing the detachment of the roves (4a) supplied by the used cylinder (4) from the spinning lines (5) ― upstream of the joining zone ― comprise a reversing device (44) which acts on the mechanism that causes the rotation of the used cylinder (4) and is adapted to cause the latter to rotate in the sense corresponding to its rewinding, this rewinding rotation causing the breakage of the roves (4a) supplied by the used cylinder (4). 12. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the mechanism which causes the rotation of the used cylinder (4) is constituted (in known manner) by a roller (3) on which the used cylinder bears so as to be drawn in rotation, the reversing device (44) being arranged between the roller (3) and the respective operating motor (45).

Inventors: GAUDINO, PIERO
Applicants: OFFICINE GAUDINO DI P. GAUDINO & C. S.A.S.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: D01H9
IPC codes: D01H9, D01H15