Abstract:
A carding machine in combination with an apparatus for charging a flat coiler can with sliver. The apparatus is disposed at the outlet of the carding machine and includes a rotary coiler head receiving sliver from the carding machine outlet and depositing the sliver in coils in the coiler can. The coiler can is reciprocated underneath the coiler head in a first direction for depositing sliver along a coiler can length extending parallel to the first direction. When charging of the coiler can is concluded, a device shifts the coiler head in a second direction over an additional coiler can for switching coiler cans from a full can to an empty can. A slack forming device for forming a slack in the sliver is arranged between the carding machine outlet and the coiler head.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority of German Application No. 101 16 944.2 filed Apr. 5, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to an apparatus arranged at the output end of a carding machine for charging a coiler can with outputted sliver. The coiler can is of the type that has a flat design, that is, it has an elongated horizontal outline. The sliver is deposited in coils in the can by a rotary coiler head, while the rotary head and the coiler can shift relatively to one another. When the desired fill level is reached in the can, the coiler head moves perpendicularly to the longitudinal can axis over an empty, standby can, and further, the filled can is replaced by an empty can which thus becomes the new standby can. 
     German patent document 43 33 730, to which corresponds U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,869, discloses an apparatus in which the sliver is advanced from a carding machine to a coiler can station and is introduced there in an oblique intake device of the coiler head. Simultaneously with the rotation of the coiler head, the coiler can supporting device executes a linear back-and-forth motion with the coiler can with strokes parallel to, and equaling the horizontal can length. 
     Because of such a reciprocating motion during the sliver deposition, the sliver is disadvantageously exposed to an undesired, alternating pull. It is a further drawback that the coiler can switch (that is, the shift of the coiler head from above the filled coiler can over an empty coiler can) and the coiler can replacement (that is, the supply and removal of an empty and, respectively, a filled can to and from the coiler head) occur simultaneously. During such an occurrence the coiler head is, with the sliver, first shifted in one direction and subsequently in an opposite direction, whereby the sliver is exposed to an additional undesired draft. It is yet another disadvantage that such a conventional apparatus is of complex construction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus and method of the above-outlined type from which the discussed disadvantages are eliminated and which makes possible the deposition of a uniform sliver in a particularly simple manner. 
     This object and others to become apparent as the specification progresses, are accomplished by the invention, according to which, briefly stated, the apparatus for charging a flat coiler can with sliver is combined with a carding machine. The apparatus is disposed at the outlet of the carding machine and includes a rotary coiler head receiving sliver from the carding machine outlet and depositing the sliver in coils in the coiler can. The coiler can is reciprocated underneath the coiler head in a first direction for depositing sliver along a coiler can length extending parallel to the first direction. When charging of the coiler can is concluded, a device shifts the coiler head in a second direction over an additional coiler can for switching coiler cans from a full can to an empty can. A slack forming device for forming a slack in the sliver is arranged between the carding machine outlet and the coiler head. 
     By virtue of the sliver slack forming device, an undesired draft (tensioning) of the sliver is avoided or compensated for. Because coiler can switching and coiler can replacement occur consecutively, additional displacement effects on the sliver and thus undesired additional sliver tensioning is counteracted, and also, the coiler can replacement may occur parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cans. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a carding machine adapted to incorporate the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional apparatus showing movements of the coiler and the coiler cans. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic, broken-away, end elevational view of the carding machine, incorporating a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional elevational view of a sliver drafting unit, followed by a coiler head. 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic top plan view of a system including a plurality of carding machines, each associated with a sliver drafting unit, an apparatus for coiler can switching and replacement, a plurality of coiler can storing devices and a plurality of spinning machines. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a carding machine CM which may be, for example, a high-performance DK 903 model, manufactured by Trützschler GmbH &amp; Co. KG, Mönchengladbach, Germany. The carding machine CM has a feed roller  1 , a feed table  2  cooperating therewith, licker-ins  3   a,    3   b  and  3   c,  a main carding cylinder  4 , a doffer  5 , a stripping roll  6 , crushing rolls  7 ,  8 , a web guiding element  9 , a sliver trumpet  10 , calender rolls  11 ,  12 , a traveling flats assembly  13  having flat bars  14  and a coiler  16  for depositing sliver into a coiler can  15 . The processing direction of the fiber material is designated at A. Above a cover plate  17  of the coiler  16  a housing  18  is disposed which accommodates a rotary coiler head  19  and an upstream-arranged, regulated sliver drafting unit  20  shown in FIG.  4 . The coiler can  15  has a horizontally generally elongated, rectangular outline and is, while the coiler head  19  rotates and deposits sliver, reciprocated in the direction of arrows B and C by a non-illustrated, conventional mechanism. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates two side-by-side arranged coiler cans  15   a  (containing sliver) and  15   b  (empty). During the sliver filling process, the coiler can  15   a  is reciprocated as shown by the arrows B, C while the empty can  15   b  is stationary in a standby position. As soon as the coiler can  15   a  is filled with sliver (deposited in coils), the housing  18 , together with the rotary head  19  (not visible in FIG.  2 ), is shifted in the direction of the arrow E from above the full can  15   a  to above the empty can  15   b  to thus perform the coiler can switching operation. The running sliver is severed during such a shifting motion. An apparatus to perform such sliver severing is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift (application published before examination) 195 48 232. The coiler head  19  continues to rotate during its shift in the direction E with unchanged circumferential velocity. Thereafter the filling process continues by charging the can  15   b  and upon completion of such charging, the shift of the coiler head  19  will occur in the direction D. After the coiler head  19  has assumed its position above the new, empty can  15   b  (that is, the coiler can switching step is terminated), and charging of the new can  15   b  is in progress, the full can  15   a  is moved away from the coiler head  19  and an empty can (not shown in FIG. 2) is moved in its place in the direction of arrows F or G in performance of the coiler can replacement step. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the course of the coiler can replacement, an empty can is moved from an empty-can storage device  36  next to the can which is being charged, while the earlier filled can is moved to a full-can storage device  37 . 
     Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the running sliver  21  has a sliver length portion  21 ′ between the outlet of the carding machine (represented by the calender rolls  11 ,  12  in FIG. 1) and a first sliver deflecting roller  22 , a sliver length portion  21 ″ between the sliver deflecting roller  22  and a second sliver deflecting roller  23 , and a sliver length portion  21 ′″ between the second sliver deflecting roller  23  and a passage  18 ′ (shown in FIG. 2) leading into the inner space of the housing  18 . The length portion  21 ′ is a slack, loosely hanging part which constitutes a stored sliver portion. A sensor device for detecting the extent of slack of the sliver portion  21 ′ is constituted by an optical barrier column  40  which is connected with the drive motors  24 ,  25  by an electronic control and regulating device  41 . In this manner the extent of slack is adjusted and thus a length equalization is effected without changing the draft (tension) on the sliver  21  when velocity changes occur in the sliver drawing mechanism  20 . Likewise, upon shifting the housing  18  with the coiler head  19  and the sliver drawing unit  20  in the direction of arrows D or E in the course of switching coiler cans, by virtue of the hanging sliver length portion  21 ′ a length compensation is effected without exposing the sliver  21  to undesired draft changes. 
     Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, a sliver trumpet  26  is arranged above the coiler head  19 , immediately followed by a pair of calender rolls  27 ,  28 . Between the sliver trumpet  26  and the sliver deflecting roller  22  the sliver drafting unit  20  is arranged which includes, at its inlet, a measuring trumpet  29 . An input drafting roll pair  30  and a center drafting roll pair  31  are driven by the regulated electric drive motor  24 , whereas the output drafting roll pair  32 , the calender rolls  27 ,  28  and the coiler head  19  are driven by a further electric drive motor  25 . 
     Turning to FIG. 5, the apparatus according to the invention is utilized in a “direct spinning” system. The process for automating the yarn manufacturing steps is, particularly in spinning plants operating with rotary spinning machines, advantageously based on the utilization of coiler cans having a horizontally elongated (flat) cross-sectional outline. Such a coiler can  15  may be positioned on a selected working location and accurately oriented thereon by simple, conventional means. A flat coiler can  15  has further advantages: Because of a more efficient coverage of the floor surface and a more uniform layering of the sliver, flat coiler cans may be charged with about twice the sliver quantity as compared to coiler cans of circular horizontal cross-sectional outline. 
     The automatic yarn making process is controlled by a control center  34  which makes decisions concerning the replacement of coiler cans  15  underneath the rotary spinning machines  35 . Such decision is based, for example, on the sum of two logic signals indicating that a predetermined spinning period at a spinning station has been reached or exceeded, so that in that spinning station the spinning process was interrupted. For optimizing the process of can replacement, the control center  34  utilizes the knowledge of data about a spinning period proper of the individual spinning stations from the time of the last can replacement at that spinning station. As filling stations for the cans  15 , in the spinning plant at least one carding machine  33  is provided which has a sliver drafting unit  20  and a rotary coiler head  19 . With each illustrated carding machine  33  a respective empty-can storage device  36  and a full-can storage device  37  are provided. Further, mechanizing means are provided for automatically removing the empty cans  15  from the laterally positioned empty-can storage device  36 , for subsequently positioning, operating and filling them underneath the rotary head  19  and for thereafter depositing the full cans in the laterally positioned full-can storage device  37 . The empty-can storage device  36  and the full-can storage device  37  are shiftable in the direction of the arrows H, I. 
     On the can storage devices of a conventional belt conveyor or roller conveyor type, the cans are shifted in such a manner that, for example, the filled flat cans are consecutively accumulated, with their longitudinal walls adjoining, until the desired number of the full cans is reached on the storage device  37 . The filling station further has a suction device for removing sliver remnants and impurities from the empty cans and a non-illustrated device for the oriented attachment of a sliver end to a selected location in the vicinity of the upper edge of each full can. 
     On the floor surface of the spinning plant, between the rotary spinning machines  35  and at least one filling station for the cans  15  an induction loop is provided by means of which the signals from the control center  34  and the sensors are exchanged with at least one automatically controlled transport carriage  38  which has a pallet for the cans  15 . 
     The housings  18 , with their coiler heads  19  and drafting units  20 , associated with the various respective carding machines  33  are shown in FIG. 5 in different positions, corresponding to the extent of the local shifts in the direction of the arrows D, E. 
     It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.