IMPROVEMENT OF THE DEVICE FOR COLLECTING FIBRE SLIVERS INSIDE CANS

Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved device for collecting inside a can (9) a sliver consisting of fibres, and leaving a drawing frame, or a similar machine. Said improved device comprises: - a pair of driving rolls (3, 5), whose revolution axes lay on a plane substaltially perpendicular to the direction of outlet of the fibre sliver from the feed duct; - two castellated belts (27, 29) which drive said two driving rolls, i.e., one castellated belt per driving roll, with said castellated belts being independent from each other, although they draw their motion from a same driving cog wheel (30); - a mobile frame (35) acting as the support element for the upper driving roll (3) with its own driving belt (27), which mobile frame, by being shifted upwards by means of the action of a lever (32), deactivates the drive of the fibre sliver when the can is filled, or in case of a fortuitous breakage of said fibre sliver.

Description: The present invention relates to a device for collecting inside a can a sliver consisting of fibres leaving a drawing frame or a similar machine used for preparing the fibres for spinning. By means of a rotary equipment, said device deposits the sliver of fibres as mutually superimposed epicycloids in the underlying collection can, so that the extraction of the sliver from the can containing said collected sliver in order to charge it to the subsequent machines can be carried out easily, and without any damaging occurring to the same sliver. Those skilled in the art know that the above mentioned rotary equipment is also called "coyler" in textile terminology. When in these machines the coylers known from the prior art are used, drawbacks result, which are caused by the fibre sliver running towards the deposit being formed inside the underlying can, along a path with a plurality of more or less sharp bends, winding its way from its outlet from the drawing frame, until it comes to the nip of the driving rolls. These latter are often called "coyler calender" by those skilled in the art. More or less sharp bends cause the fibre sliver to be exposed to high friction values, and can cause damages to, or breakages of, the fibres at the bending points, endangering the subsequent processes which take place in the downstream machinery. Said high friction values result in the tensile stress applied by the coyler calender to the fibres undergoing a considerable increase. The high stress causes irregularities to arise in the fibre sliver, and, in extreme cases, can start the breakage of the same sliver, blocking the whole drawing facility, with damages to the production which not always can be accepted. According to the present state of the art, the trend is known to operate with faster and faster drawing facilities, in order to increase the productivity of the factories. As a consequence, the speed of deposition of the fibre sliver inside the underlying can has to be increased. While it runs along its winding path, the fibre sliver is submitted to a higher tensile stress and hence the above reminded drawbacks gain strength, causing frequent breakages of the same fibre sliver. As those skilled in the art will easily understand, the above situation is at all unacceptable both from the viewpoint of the quality of the same sliver deposited inside the can, and, all the more so, as regards the occurrence of production interruptions -- caused by the breakages of the sliver -- in that they considerably worsen the efficiency of the production cycle. Furthermore, the presently known coylers have a complex structure and consequently are high energy consuming and their cost is high; they furthermore require frequent servicing; besides all the above, they are also very noisy when running, and generate noise levels which not always are tolerated in textile factories. From EP-A-0 298 519 there is known a device having the features of the preamble of claim 1. In this known device the fibre sliver is caused to run along a tortuous stretch including numerous bends which substantially increase the friction conditions of the fibre sliver drawn by the driving rolls, so having most of the above mentioned drawbacks. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a rotary equipment (coyler) device which is constituted by simple elements which are capable of guiding and driving the fibre sliver into the underlying can through a path which is as rectilinear as possible, in order to provide a reliable operation without causing damages to the fibre sliver in any operative situations, and which is of simple structure, resulting in low energy consumptions and in a low manufacturing cost and is furthermore easy to be serviced and of contained noisiness. This purpose is achieved by a device having the features claimed in claim 1. Still clearer features of the device of the instant invention, will be set forth in the following disclosure in detail by referring to the exemplifying form of practical embodiment schematically represented in the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 shows a schematic view in axonometric perspective of the device according to the present invention, showing the rotary equipment with the sliver driving rolls so positioned that their revolution axes lie on a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of outlet of the fibre sliver from the feed duct. This latter duct guides the fibre sliver from the outlet of this latter from the drawing frame up to the nip of said driving rolls. The figure shows also the upper portion of the underlying collection can. Figure 2 shows a schematic, sectional side elevational view of the fibre sliver feed duct, showing the position of the axes of revolution of the sliver driving rolls, the inlet element constituted by the condensing funnel and the outlet stretch with the direction of deposition of the fibre sliver into the interior of the can; Figure 3 shows a schematic, partially sectional view in axonometric perspective of the device according to the present invention, showing the assembly of the rotary equipment with the pairs of gearwheels, and the cog wheels and the shafts for movement transmission, and also shows the castellated belts which actuate the driving rolls to rotate, together with the mobile support frame which supports the upper driving roll, which support frame can be shifted upwards by means of the action of a lever, also shown in the Figure, which lever lifts said mobile frame by causing it to pivot about the shaft it is hinged onto. Furthermore, for the sake of clearness of the whole assembly, all those parts have been omitted, which are not necessary for understanding the invention, such as the rotation driving motor, the several support structures, and still other elements, well-known to those skilled in the art. The sliver 1 consisting of textile fibres, coming from the outlet of a drawing frame (not shown) of a drawing facility enters a stationary portion 2 of a duct, inside whose interior the fibre sliver 1 runs. At the bend, of a large curvature radius, the fibre sliver 1 is pressed against the inner side 2b, and, on the contrary, gets detached from the external side 2a; therefore along the bend, the fibre sliver runs with no contact with said external side. An upper driving roll 3 is supported by a mobile frame 35 by means of which said driving roll 3 can be lifted to reach its high position 3a in which it is spaced apart from an underlying lower driving roll 5. The underlying driving roll 5 is rotatable about a stationary axis and is supported by an underlying support plate 7 by means of a whatever supporting element known from the prior art (not shown in the figures). The driving rolls 3 and 5 revolve, in order to drive the fibre sliver 1 pinched between them, around their revolution axes, the traces of which are O₁ and O₂. A stationary sleeve 4 performs the task of guiding the fibre sliver 1 through a cog disk 14. The axis of said sleeve 4 coincides with the axis of rotation of the rotary equipment including the plate 7 and therefore coincides with the axis of rotation of the plate 7 and of the cog disk 14. 6 is a short inlet stretch of duct, which guides the fibre sliver 1 from the outlet from the sleeve 4 to the inlet to the condensing funnel 8, and it has a vertical portion followed by an inclined portion through a slightly bent portion. Inside the interior of the bent stretch 6, the fibres are slightly compressed against the inner side 6a, and get spaced apart from the external side 6b. Said duct stretch 6 is rotatable together with the plate 7 about the axis of the vertical portion of the stretch 6, in that it is rigidly coupled with the condensing funnel-shaped element 8. The rotary plate 7 supports the whole device according to the present invention. Said plate 7 is rigidly affixed to the cog disk 14 through a vertical element 26. The condensing element 8 guides and compacts, thanks to its converging, funnel-like shape, the fibre sliver 1 before this latter is pinched by the revolving driving rolls 3 and 5, which oblige said sliver 1 to deposit inside the interior of the underlying collecting can 9 through an outlet stretch according to the direction shown by the arrow 11. 12 is the arrow showing the trajectory and direction of the running fibre sliver 1 when it enters the stationary guide duct 2. A guide sleeve 10 guides the fibre sliver 1 after that this latter leaves the driving rolls 3 and 5. Said guide sleeve 10 has a divergent interior shape, inside which the fibre sliver expands owing to the effect of its own elasticity after having been compressed by the rolls 3 and 5. Said guide sleeve 10 is additionally rigidly coupled with the rotary support plate 7 and its axis extends in the direction 11 inclined relative to the plate 7. The cog disk, or cog wheel, 14, by being driven to rotate by a castellated belt 20, transmits its rotary movement to the whole rotary equipment (i.e., the coyler) and, therefore, to the device according to the present invention. B-B is the trace of the plane on which the revolution axes of the rolls 3 and 5 lie. Said plane is substantially perpendicular to the direction 11, and is thus inclined and forms an angle α with the plane A-A on which the rotary support plate 7 lies. 15 is the arrow which indicates the revolution direction of the whole device according to the present invention supported by the plate 7. The rotation 15 about the axis of the support plate 7, which as shown is eccentric with respect to the axis of the can 9, and the simultaneous rotation 19 of the underlying collection can 9 generate the composition of two revolutionary movements, which cause the fibre sliver 1 exiting the plate 7 according to the direction 11, to deposit with an epicycloidal arrangement inside said collecting can 9. Protective cases, or carters, 18 and 16 contain the means or elements for actuating the device according to the present invention. A pair of bevel gears 21 and 23 transmit the revolution movement from a pinion 22 to a driving shaft 25. The pinion 22 acts as a satellite, because it is caused to revolve around a central, stationary gear wheel 24, and while it rotates around said gear wheel 24, it revolves around its own axis, thus generating a rotation which is transmitted to the shaft 25. The vertical element 26 rigidly connects the cog disk 14 with the rotary plate 7. Said vertical element 26 furthermore houses, inside its own interior, means, or elements, for motion transmission (see Figure 3). A double cog wheel 30 is rigidly keyed onto the driving shaft 25 with the axis with trace C-C. Said double cog wheel 30 actuates simultaneously two mutually independent castellated belts 27 and 29. 27 is the castellated belt which transmits the revolutionary motion to the upper driving roll 3 through a cog wheel 38 and return/guide cog wheels 39 and 37; 29 is the castellated belt which transmits the revolutionary motion to the lower driving roll 5 through a cog wheel 28 and return/guide cog wheels 34 and 36. The mobile frame 35 is idlingly hinged about the shaft 25, and hence capable of being angularly shifted about the axis C-C as its rotation fulcrum. Said mobile frame 35 is the support element which supports the driving roll 3 and hence the castellated belt 27 and the cog wheels 38, 39 and 37. A lever 32 acts at one end through a wheel 33 onto a portion of the frame 35 and pushes upwards the mobile frame 35 in order to bring the driving roll 3 to its upper position 3a in order to deactivate the driving of the fibre sliver 1 by the coyler calender, thus causing the filling of the underlying can 9 to be discontinued. 32a is the trace of the lever portion in its position of "mobile frame UP", to which the "driving roll 3 in position 3a" corresponds. 31 is the arrow which indicates the angular shift of the lever 32, manually carried out by the attending operator, or automatically carried out by a whatever actuator. The operation of the device for collecting inside a can a fibre sliver leaving a drawing frame as illustrated in the hereto attached drawings is as follows. As those skilled in the art are well aware of, the driving rolls 3 and 5 are kept in their driving position -- and hence working position -- by a fixed-calibration spring (not shown). When the fibre sliver 1 undergoes a breakage, or when the preestablished length of fibre sliver is reached inside the can -- therefore under filled-can conditions -- the drawing frame and the device according to the present invention stop and the driving roll 3 is lifted to its position 3a by means of the actuation of the lever 32, which is moved to its position 32a. A device already known from the prior art and therefore not illustrated herein, feeds a jet of compressed air, acting as an injector, in order to perform the operation of automatic introduction of the fibre sliver 1, in order to cause this latter to get engaged by the nip of the driving rolls 3,5. The drawing frame and the device according to the present invention are started again and the fibre sliver 1, pinched and driven by the rolls 3 and 5 -- which have already been approached again to each other by the lever 32 being returned back to its resting position -- starts depositing according to overlapping epicycloids inside the underlying collecting rotary can 9. Thanks to the advantageous position assumed by the pair of driving rolls 3 and 5 in the device according to the instant invention, the fibre sliver 1 is no longer obliged to undergo elbow-like and marked curvilinear deviations while running along more or less sharp bends, so that it is dragged by said rolls 3 and 5 with a rather low tensile stress, in that the friction caused by the contact of said fibre sliver 1 with the walls of the duct results to be of an extremely limited value. In fact, the fibre sliver 1, by running along a rather straight path , as compared to devices known from the prior art, will be exposed to a very limited friction of contact with the internal walls of the various duct stretches. All the above results in the advantage that one will have the certainty that the fibre sliver 1 will not suffer any damages, and hence that it will not undergo any accidental breakages even when the collection speed will be considerably increased in order to increase the production efficiency.

Claims: Device for collecting inside a can (9) a fibre sliver (1) leaving a drawing frame or a similar machine, comprising a sliver guiding stretch (6) having a vertical portion followed by an inclined portion, and a rotary equipment including a support plate (7) rotatable above and relative to the can (9) about an axis coincident with the axis of said vertical portion and eccentric with respect to the axis of the can (9), said sliver guiding stretch (6) forming a condensing funnel (8) and being supported by said rotary equipment, said rotary equipment further rotatably supporting a pair of driving rolls (3,5) for drawing the fibre sliver (1) at said condensing funnel (8), wherein the revolution axes (O₁, O₂) of said rolls (3,5) lie on a plane (B-B) substantially perpendicular to the direction (11) according to which the fibre sliver (1) leaves said condensing funnel (8), characterised in that: said plane (B-B) is inclined and forms an angle (α) with respect to the plane (A-A) of said support plate (7), whereby said rolls (3,5) comprise an upper and a lower roll; said direction (11) is also inclined relative to the plane (A-A) of said support plate (7); said rolls (3,5) are driven by respective independent castellated belts (27,29) both drawing their motion from a same driving cog wheel (30) rigidly keyed on a driving shaft (25) driven to revolve through a set of gear wheels (21-24); said upper roll (3), its castellated belt (27) and wheels (37-39) guiding said belt (27) are supported by a mobile frame (35) which is idlingly hinged about an axis (C-C) coincident with the axis of said driving shaft (25) and is shiftable upwards to disable the drive of the fibre sliver (1). Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by further comprising a lever (32) hinged onto said support plate (7) and having one end engaging a portion of said mobile frame (35) and an opposite end for actuation of said lever (32).

Inventors: MINGUZZI, ERALDO, SARTONI, SANDRO
Applicants: SAVIO S.P.A.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B65H54
IPC codes: B65H54