Weft stand

Abstract: A weft stand comprises a post (14), a supporting member (16) rotatably supported on the post about a horizontal axis, a supporting shaft (18) for each weft package (12), rotatably supported on the supporting member about an axis in parallel with the horizontal axis, and rotation controlling means (20, 50) for rotating the supporting member (16) and the supporting shaft (18) in respective opposite directions the same rotation angle, so that the supporting shafts (18) remain pointed in the same direction upon rotation of the support member (16). The weft stand allows weft packages, from which a weft is released, to disposed on the shafts (18) in a predetermined direction without the need to provide each supporting shaft with a weft package grasping mechanism.

Description: This invention relates to a weft stand for holding a plurality of weft packages for the feed of a weft to a weaving machine. A conventional weft stand has a supporting member rotatably supported on a post about a horizontal axis. The supporting member is provided with supporting elements comprising shafts which are inserted into holes of a plurality of weft packages or trays to support. The respective supporting shafts are disposed so as to form a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal axis. The horizontal axis is a rotation axis of the supporting member. Accordingly, an axis of the weft package, from which the weft is released, is directed to a yarn guide (see Japanese Patent Public Disclosure (KOKAI) No. 2-104745). Since the respective supporting shafts are not in parallel with the horizontal axis, the supporting shafts extend downwardly for certain rotation angles of the supporting member, when the supporting member is rotated. Hence, the conventional weft stand needs to be provided with a weft package grasping mechanism on each supporting shaft to prevent the weft package from slipping off the downwardly extending supporting shafts. However, the weft package grasping mechanism prohibits an automatic feed of the weft package to the weft stand in conjunction with complicating the structure of the weft stand. US-A-4013243 discloses a weft stand wherein the weft packages are pivotally mounted and weights are provided to keep the axes of the weft packages vertical. The present invention is characterised in that each weft package supporting pin is pivoted by driving means in response to rotation of the supporting member, such that the weft package supporting pins do not adopt a position, whereat a weft package is liable to be dislodged from a pin by gravity, at any point during a complete revolution of the supporting member. The driving means may comprise a non-rotating sun gear coaxial with the support member, a plurality of planet gears meshing with the sun gear and gear portions drivingly attached to respective weft supporting elements, the sun gear and said gear portions each having the same number of teeth. Alternatively, the driving means may comprise a plurality of cranks pivotally mounting respective weft support pins to the support member, a plurality of hinged links coupling respective cranks to an eccentric on the support member so as to rotate the cranks during rotation of the support member, and a cam member arranged to be engaged by each link in turn such that it causes the engaging link to bend about its hinge thereby reducing its effective length so as to induce supplementary rotation of the respective crank. Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a front view of a weft stand according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view partially enlarged of the weft stand of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front view of another weft stand according to the present invention; and Fig 4. is a sectional view partially enlarged of the weft stand of Fig. 3. Referring now to Fig. 1, an overall construction of a weft stand of the present invention is denoted by a reference numeral 10. The weft stand 10 holds a plurality of weft packages 12 (three packages illustrated in the figure) to feed a weft to a weaving machine (not shown). The weft packages 12 are held in three different positions, i.e., a released position, an exchanging position, and a waiting position. As used herein, the term "released position" refers to a position to release the weft from the weft package. The term "exchanging position" refers to a position to exchange a weft package in which the weft is consumed for a new weft package. The term "waiting position" refers to a position where the weft package waits for further releasing the weft when the weft of the weft package is consumed. The weft is fed from the weft package 12 disposed at the released position through a yarn guide 13 to the weaving machine. The weft stand 10 comprises a post 14, a supporting member 16 rotatably supported on the post 14 about a horizontal axis, a supporting element in the form of a shaft 18 for each weft package 12, rotatably supported on the supporting member 16 about an axis in parallel with the horizontal axis, and rotation controlling means 20 for rotating the supporting member 16 and each supporting shaft 18 in the respective opposite directions at each identical rotation angle. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the supporting member 16 comprises a disk. The three supporting shafts 18 are disposed in the vicinity of a circumference of the disk at the circumferential regular intervals therebetween to pass through the disk. Reference numeral 22 refers to a bearing for each supporting shaft 18. A pedestal 30 is mounted on one end of the supporting shaft 18. The pedestal 30 has a pin 28 which can be inserted into a hole 26 of a tray 24 mounted on the weft package 12. According to a preferred embodiment as shown in figures 1-4, the pin 28 is set to extend upwardly in the released position. Also, the tray 24, when fitted into the pin 28, directs the axis of the weft package 12, i.e., the axis of a bobbin toward the yarn guide 13. The rotation controlling means 20 comprises a first planetary gear 32 secured to each supporting shaft 18, a second planetary gear 34 rotatably supported on the supporting member 16 about an axis in parallel with the horizontal axis and meshing with the first planetary gear 32, and a sun gear 36 secured to the post 14, meshing with the second planetary gear 34 and having the same number of teeth as that of teeth of the first planetary gear 32. The first planetary gear 32 as shown in figures 1 and 2 is disposed around the supporting shaft 18 and is integrally formed with the supporting shaft 18. The second planetary gear 34 has a shaft portion 34a passing through the disk. A bearing 38 is disposed between the shaft portion 34a and the disk. Further, according to the preferred embodiment as shown in figures 1 and 2, the second planetary gear 34 has more teeth than those of the first planetary gear 32. The sun gear 36 has a shaft portion 36a rigidly mounted on a mounting portion 40 which is secured to the post 14. The shaft portion 36a of the sun gear 36 passes through an intermediate portion of the disk 16. A bearing 42 is disposed between the shaft portion 36a and the disk 16. The disk 16 has a gear 44 which is integrally formed with the disk 16 and surrounds the bearing 42. The gear 44 meshes with a pinion 48 mounted on an output shaft of a motor 46 which is secured to the mounting portion 40. When the motor 46 is driven, the disk 16 is rotated about the shaft portion 36a, i.e., the horizontal axis. The second planetary gear 34 is rotated about the shaft portion 36a in conjunction with the disk 16, and meshes with the fixed sun gear 36. Accordingly, the second planetary gear 34 is rotated about the axis of the shaft portion 34a, i.e., an axis in parallel with the horizontal axis. A rotation angle of the disk 16 is equal to a value obtained by dividing a value, which is obtained by multiplying the rotation angle of the second planetary gear 34 by the number of teeth of the second planetary gear 34, by the number of teeth of the sun gear 36. Torque of the second planetary gear 34 is transmitted to the first planetary gear 32 meshing with the second planetary gear 34. The torque allows to rotate the first planetary gear 32 in conjunction with the supporting shaft 18. The first planetary gear 32 has the same number of teeth as that of teeth of the sun gear 36. Therefore, the first planetary gear 32 and the supporting shaft 18 have the same rotation angle as that of the disk 16. Hence, the position of the weft package 12 in the released position can be permanently maintained even in the exchanging position where the disk 16 is rotated counterclockwise substantially 120 degrees as viewed in Fig. 1, also even in the waiting position where the disk 16 is further rotated counterclockwise substantially 120 degrees. Further, the weft package 12 can be held at the same position while the disk is transferred between the respective positions. Therefore, when the disk 16 is rotated, the tray 24 can be held at the constant position where the tray 24 never slips off the pin 28. Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, another embodiment of the rotation controlling means 50 will be described hereinafter. The rotation controlling means 50 comprises a rotary member 52 rotatably supported on the stand 14 about a horizontal axis, i.e., an eccentric axis L2 in parallel with a horizontal axis L1 of a supporting member 16, a shaft member 56 rotatably supported on the rotary member 52 corresponding to each supporting shaft 18, the distance between an axis of each shaft member 56 and the corresponding shaft 18 being the same as that between the first and second horizontal axes L1 and L2. According to the embodiment as shown in the figures 3 and 4, the axis L1 of the supporting member 16 is disposed above the axis L2 of the rotary member 52, and is arranged in a vertical plane perpendicular to the drawing as viewed in Fig. 3. Each axis of the supporting shaft 18 and the corresponding shaft member 56 is arranged in a vertical plane in parallel with the above vertical plane. In this embodiment, the supporting member 16 has three extending portions 60 radially extending from the horizontal axis 11 to form isometric angles therebetween. Each extending portion 60 comprises four plate pieces 60a through 60d which are aligned with each other and are rockably connected with each other. The extending portion 60 can be bent in the direction of the axis L1. The supporting member 16 is mounted on the post 14 through a shaft 62, a cam member 64, and a shaft 66. The pieces 60a serving as the respective original ends of the three extending portions are fixed to each other. The shaft 62 passes through the pieces 60a. The cam member 64, as described later, is secured to the shaft 62. The shaft 66 of the rotary member 52 is secured to the cam member 64. Accordingly, the supporting member 16 can be rotated about the shaft 62. The rotary member 52 has three extending portions 68 radially extending from the eccentric axis L2 to form isometric angles therebetween as in the case of the supporting member 16. Here, the three extending portions 68 comprises a single plate member. A shaft 72 having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion extends from a mounting member 70 secured to the post 14. The small diameter portion of the shaft 72 passes through a cross portion of the three extending portions 68 on the rotary member 52. Accordingly, the rotary member 52 can be rotated about the small diameter portion of the shaft 72. A gear 74 is rotatably disposed about the large diameter portion of the shaft 72, and is secured to the rotary member 52. The gear 74 meshes with a pinion 78 secured to an output shaft of a motor 76 which is mounted on the mounting member 70. Consequently, the rotary member 52 is rotated about the eccentric axis L2 in response to drive of the motor 76. It is assumed that the rotary member 52 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 3. Thus, torque of the rotary member 52 is transmitted to the supporting member 16 through the shaft member 56, the connecting member 58 and the supporting shaft 18. Accordingly, the supporting member 16 can be rotated counterclockwise about the axis L1. Since the rotary member 52 and the supporting member 16 are rotated about each different axis, the shaft member 56 and the supporting shaft 18 draw each different circular locus. The shaft member 56 and the supporting shaft 18 connected with each other are rotated about each axis. The shaft member 56 and the supporting shaft 18 have the same rotation angle as that of the rotary member 52 and the supporting member 16. Thus, a point on a peripheral surface of the supporting shaft 18 can be permanently held about the axis of the supporting shaft 18 at any rotation angle. As a result, it is possible to maintain the position of the tray 24 and the position of the weft package 12 constantly while the supporting member 16 is rotated. The tray 24 is supported by the supporting shaft 18 and the weft package 12 is secured to the tray. With reference to Fig. 3, the weft package 12 disposed at the uppermost released position can be positioned toward the yarn guide 13. The position of the weft package 12 can be permanently maintained even in the exchanging position where the weft package 12 is rotated counterclockwise substantially 120 degrees, and even in the waiting position where the weft package 12 is further rotated counterclockwise substantially 120 degrees. Meanwhile, in the weft package in the released position, an accident such as a broken thread may occur during weaving. Hence, a weft withdrawing apparatus including the yarn guide 13 may be moved toward the weft package 12 disposed in the waiting position to withdraw the weft from the weft package 12. In such a case, the weft package in the waiting position is preferably disposed toward the yarn guide 13. For this, each extending portion 60 of the supporting member 16 can be bent and is provided with the cam member 64. In the embodiment in the figures 3 and 4, the piece 60b includes a roller 82 which can engage the cam member 64. The cam member 64 is disposed at a position corresponding to the waiting position, and is secured to one end of the small diameter portion of the shaft 72. Therefore, when the rotation of the extending portion 60 of the supporting member 16 is stopped at the waiting position, the roller 82 is mounted on the cam member 64 to engage. The peice 60b having the roller 82 is rocked with respect to the adjacent one piece 60a. Further, the rocked piece 60b causes the adjacent another piece 60c to rock. The respective pieces 60b and 60c are rocked so that a radial length of the extending portion 60 having the pieces can be substantially decreased. Accordingly, the supporting shaft 18 passing through the end piece 60d is rotated about the axis of the shaft 18 counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 3. At this time, the vertical plane including each axis of the supporting shaft 18 and the corresponding shaft member 56 is turned into an inclined plane. A rotation angle of the supporting shaft 18 in this condition may be determined in consideration of the position of the yarn guide 13. If the supporting member 16 is further rotated counterclockwise, the roller is rolled on the cam member 64 and thereafter, the roller is separated from the cam member 64. While the roller 82 leaves the cam member 64 and the supporting shaft 18 moves from the waiting position to the released position counterclockwise as viewed in Fig 3, the shaft 18 is rotated counterclockwise by the weight of the package supported thereby. Therefore, the piece 60d receives a radially outward tensile force. As a result, the pieces 60b and 60c in a bent state are extended to be straight in said radial direction and returned to their original positions. Accordingly, the supporting shaft 18 and the shaft member 56 are rotated about each axis thereof. Instead of the roller 82, the piece 60b may have a projection. Reference numerals 84, 86 refer to bearings for the supporting shaft 18 and the shaft member 56, respectively.

Claims: A weft stand (10) for holding a plurality of weft packages (12) for the feed of weft to a weaving machine, comprising a supporting member (16,52) rotatably mounted about an axis extending in a direction that includes a horizontal component, and a plurality of weft package supporting pins (28) mounted on said supporting member (16, 52), characterised in that each weft package supporting pin (28) is pivoted by driving means (32,34,36;18,56, 58,60,62) in response to rotation of the supporting member (16,52), such that the weft package supporting pins (28) do not adopt a position, whereat a weft package is liable to be dislodged from a pin (28) by gravity, at any point during a complete revolution of the supporting member (16,52). A weft stand according to claim 1, wherein the driving means (32,34,36;18,56,58,60,62) comprises a non-rotating sun gear (36) coaxial with the support member (16), a plurality of planet gears (34) meshing with the sun gear (36) and gear portions (32) drivingly attached to respective weft supporting elements (28), the sun gear (36) and said gear portions (34) each having the same number of teeth. A weft stand according to claim 1, wherein the driving means (32,34,36;18,56,58,60,62) comprises a plurality of cranks (18,56,58) pivotally mounting respective weft support pins (28) to the support member (52), a plurality of hinged links (60) coupling respective cranks (18,56,58) to an eccentric (62) on the support member (52) so as to rotate the cranks (18,56,58) during rotation of the support member (52), and a cam member (64) arranged to be engaged by each link (60) in turn such that it causes the engaging link (60) to bend about its hinge thereby reducing its effective length so as to induce supplementary rotation of the respective crank (18,56,58).

Inventors: MORI KIYOAKI, MORI, KIYOAKI
Applicants: TSUDAKOMA IND CO LTD, TSUDAKOMA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: D03D47
IPC codes: B65H49, D03D47