Spindle driving device

Abstract: A spindle for winding machines and similar textile machines wherein the spindle (1) is supported rotatably by means of a cartridge (6) held by an elastic system; the spindle (1) is connected to an electric drive motor (5), whose stator (20) is fastened removably to the spindle cartridge (6), while the rotor (20) is fastened removably to an extension of the spindle (1) which projects from one end of the support cartridge (6).

Description: The present invention relates to a motor-driven textile spindle according to the preamble of claim 1. From a previous patent, US-A-4 731 985, a spindle for textile machines is known, supported rotatably by a cartridge held radially by elastic thrust means arranged peripherally both to dampen the vibrations to which a textile spindle is normally subjected, and to facilitate application and removal of the spindle itself without having to remove the entire support device. In general spindles on a textile machine are driven by means of a mechanical transmission formed substantially by a tangential belt which extends for the whole length of the machine and which is pushed, by means of idle rollers, against the corresponding pulleys of the spindles. The tangential belt drive for a whole assembly of spindles is commonly used on textile machines which work at relatively low speeds. The current tendency to increase spindle rotation speeds considerably to reach 30,000 r.p.m. and over has been found to be impossible with belt drives due to the loud noise generated by the mechanical transmission and the high consumption of energy necessary for driving rotation of the spindles, a consumption which rises progressively and exponentially as the rotation speed of the spindles themselves increases. Moreover, with tangential belt drives, special and complex techniques are required to keep the drive belt away from the pulley of each individual spindle, when the latter has to be stopped for example to repair a broken thread, without having to stop the entire textile machine. Another previous patent US-A-4348860, representing the closest prior art, introduces the use of electric drive motors for each individual spindle, powered at high frequency to reach the high working speeds required. Nevertheless the constructional solutions proposed hitherto make the application of spindles and their removal for routine maintenance, required by the rotating mechanical parts with a certain frequency, extremely difficult. Moreover the use of an electric motor for each spindle, according to the ideas previously known, is not suitable for application to spindles supported oscillatingly, for example according to the support device shown in the patent US-A-4 731 985 cited previously. Any relative movement between the rotor and stator of the electric motor could bring the two parts into contact, damaging them irreparably. The object of the present invention is to provide a motor-driven textile spindle, able to work at high rotation speeds with low noise levels and low energy consumption rates such as to facilitate operations of maintenance, thus avoiding the disadvantages to be found in previous motor-driven spindles. A further object of the present invention is to provide a motor-driven textile spindle which maintains the advantages of the damping support according to the previous patent US- A-4 731 985, and which at the same time allows full interchangeability and independence between spindle and drive motor. The abovementioned objects are achieved by the features of the characterising portion of claim 1. A preferred embodiment of a motor-driven textile spindle, according to the invention will be illustrated in greater detail hereinunder, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a view of a longitudinal section of the lower part of the spindle, with the respective support device and the electric drive motor; Fig. 2 is a view of a transverse section of the support along line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of a transverse section of the support along line 3-3 of Fig. 1. In the figures, numeral 1 denotes a rotating spindle which supports a spool of yarn 2; the spindle 1 is appropriately fastened to the frame 3 of a textile machine, partially shown, to be driven to rotate at high speed by means of an electric motor denoted as a whole by 5 which is arranged in a position beneath the frame 3. In particular, the spindle 1 is supported rotatably by means of a cylindrical cartridge 6, supported radially by two elastic support systems housed in a hollow body 7 or casing secured to the frame 3. More particularly, the upper elastic support system, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises elastic pads 8, in the form of a circular, elastomeric segment, arranged peripherally around the cartridge 6, between the latter and a radial thrust element comprising an upper cover 9, provided below with a conical edge defined internally by a slanted surface 10 for radially pushing against the similarly slanted surface of the pads 8. The radial compression of the pads 8 against the cartridge 6 is achieved by moving the cover 9 axially towards the body 7 by means of suitable tightening screws, not shown, so that the axial movement of the cover 9 causes radial thrust of the pads 8 against the external cylindrical surface of the aforementioned cartridge 6. Advantageously, the pads 8 of the upper elastic system have a cogged internal surface or with longitudinal recesses 11 which on one side lead to the outside through a circular slot 12 between the closure cover 9 and the upper end of the cartridge 6, while on the other side they lead into an annular chamber or internal passage 13, formed between the cartridge 6 and the body 7 of the support, as shown. The chamber 13 in turn opens outwards, below the frame 3, through radial holes 13' immediately above the second elastic support system. The second elastic support system comprises an annular element formed by circular elastomeric segments 14 as shown in figure 3, arranged peripherally between the cartridge 6 and the lower end of the body 7. The segments 14 are suitably supported axially by an internal annular shoulder. As can be seen in figure 1, the cartridge 6 which supports the rotary spindle 1 extends axially below the support body 7 and, correspondingly, the spindle 1 extends beyond the lower end of the cartridge 6 with a leg 1', defining the shaft of the electric motor 5. According to the present invention, the motor 5 is removably fastened to the cartridge 6 and to the extension 1' of the spindle 1 respectively so as to allow removal of the spindle by merely sliding it out and upwards, after having loosened the radial thrust of the elastic pads. Moreover the entire motor is supported elastically with the spindle so as to follow the same relative displacements caused by the vibrations to which a textile spindle is normally subjected during operation. More specifically the casing 15 of the motor, which houses the stator winding 16, has an upper flange 17, having a central hole 24 for the support cartridge to pass through the flange 17 is turned inwards and provided with a plurality of radial holes 18 in each of which a fastening member in the form of a threaded pin 19 is screwed. In this way the casing 15 of the motor may be simply slid onto the projecting cylindrical part of the cartridge 6 and locked firmly to the latter by means of the threaded pins 19. Likewise the rotor 20 of the motor is fastened removably to the shaft 1' consisting of the lower axial extension of the spindle 1; this is achieved by means of an expansion joint or locking device 21, or by means of any other locking device suitable for restraining mechanically the rotor 20 to the shaft 1 and at the same time allowing it to be removed easily. In the case shown, the expansion locking system comprises two conical rings 21 which are brought together axially by means of screws 22 and which adhere through pressure to the shaft 1' and to the internal surface of a cylindrical hole of the rotor 20. A removable cover 23 closes the casing 15 of the motor below. From what has been said and shown in the accompanying drawings it is therefore clear that a motor-driven spindle for textile machines is provided, in which the spindle is held by an elastic system acting radially, and in which the spindle is driven to rotate by means of an electric motor which can be easily fastened and removed, simply by loosening the threaded pins 19 and the screws 22, and which at the same time allows the whole spindle with its cartridge to be slid out or removed according to what has been referred previously. The fact that the motor casing is fastened directly to the spindle support cartridge 6, in addition to the advantage of allowing easy removal and/or replacement of the spindle itself, allows the entire motor assembly to follow the oscillations of the spindle, thus achieving a stable arrangement between rotor and stator even when the spindle vibrates, which prevents the two parts from coming into contact and damaging each other. The proposed solution is extremely practical and advantageous since it not only allows easy removal of the spindle and the advantages previously referred, but also enables oscillating, air-cooled supports to be used. This would be impossible with any other arrangement or system for fastening the electric motor. Obviously what has been said and shown in the accompanying drawings has been given purely as an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention claimed.

Claims: Motor-driven textile spindle for a textile machine having a frame (3), the motor-driven textile spindle comprising a hollow body (7) fixedly secured to said frame (3), a cylindrical support cartridge (6) arranged coaxially inside and connected to said hollow body (7) by means of elastic thrust means (8, 14) arranged peripherally around said cylindrical support cartridge (6) and acting radially between said cylindrical support cartridge (6) and said hollow support body (7) secured to the frame (3) of the textile machine, in which a spindle (1) is rotatably supported coaxially with and inside of said cylindrical support cartridge (6) and extends beyond said hollow support body (7) with an axial extension (1') of the spindle (1) projecting from the cylindrical support cartridge (6), and in which the spindle (1) is driven to rotate by an electric motor (5), having a rotor (20) and stator (16), and in which said rotor (16) is attached to the axial extension (1') of the spindle (1), characterized in that said cylindrical support cartridge (6) extends axially beyond said hollow support body (7), in that said rotor (20) is removably attached to the axial extension (1') of the spindle (1) projecting from the cylindrical support cartridge (6) in such a way that it can be removed without the need to remove said stator (16), and in that said stator (16) is removably attached to said cylindrical support cartridge (6) so that it can be removed without removing the spindle (1 ) and so that the electric motor is freely oscillating with the cylindrical support cartridge (6). Spindle according to claim 1, in which the electric motor (5) has a stator comprising a casing (15) for housing the stator winding (16), and a rotor (20) inside said casing (15) characterised in that disengageable fastening means are provided between the casing (15) of the motor and the cylindrical support cartridge (6), and between the rotor (20) and an axial extension (1') of the spindle (1) projecting from the support cartridge (6) respectively. Spindle according to claim 2, characterised in that said disengageable fastening means between the casing (15) of the motor and the cylindrical support cartridge (6) comprise a flange member (17) at one end of the motor casing (15), having a central hole (24) for the support cartridge (6) to pass through, and a plurality of radial holes (18) for screwing threaded pins (19) against said support cartridge (6). Spindle according to claim 2, characterised in that said disengageable fastening means between the rotor (20) and the axial extension (1) of the spindle (1) comprise an expansion locking system arranged between the axial extension (1') of the spindle (1) and the internal surface of a cylindrical hole of the rotor (20) and engageable and disengageable with them by means of screws (22). Spindle according to the previous claims, characterised in that at the end opposite the one forming the flange (17) for screwing the pins (18), the casing (15) of the motor is closed by a removable cover (23). Spindle according to claim 1, characterised in that said elastic thrust means (8, 14) comprise pads (8, 14) in the shape of circular segments in an elastomeric material, inside said hollow support body (7), and in that the internal surface of the upper elastic support pads (8) have longitudinal recesses (11) leading into a cooling air circulation path, between said cylindrical support cartridge (6) for supporting the spindle (1) and said hollow body (7). Spindle according to claim 6, characterised in that said path of circulation of the cooling air comprises an annular chamber (13) between the cylindrical support cartridge (6) and said support body (7), which opens outwards through said longitudinal recess (11) in the upper support pads and through radial holes (13') adjacent the lower pads respectively.

Inventors: MENEGATTO CARLO, MENEGATTO, CARLO
Applicants: MENEGATTO CARLO, MENEGATTO, CARLO
Application year: 1993
Main classification: D01H1
IPC codes: D01H1