Patent GB-1428794-A (GB)
Title: Method of and apparatus for automatically lacing skeins
IPC: B65H/
Filed: 1973-11-22
Abstract: 1428794 Method and apparatus for binding skeins G F MARCHESE 22 Nov 1973 [22 Nov 1972] 54330/73 Heading D1J A method of binding a skein comprises placing a binding filament C over a skein A, Fig. 14; passing the filament ends downwardly around flanks of the skein, Fig. 15; passing the filament ends under the skein and then upwardly through the underface of the skein to issue from the upper surface thereof on opposite sides of the filament C on the upper surface of the skein, Fig. 16; the two ends of the filament C and the trailing end B of the filament forming the skein winding being then tied together Fig. 19. As shown in Fig. 6 each skein A is bound by a joining filament C supplied from a bobbin D. The filament C passes through a fixed guide 13, around an idle roll 14 and through an electrically operated cutter 15 to transfer tongs 16 on a tubular support 17. Prior to the beginning of a cycle, Fig. 6, two threading arms 7 are in a raised inoperative position above the skein A. The threading arms 7 are then rocked downwardly, Fig. 7, to a setting in which the transfer tongs 16 can move across the top of the skein A and pull a length of the filament C through notches and cavities formed in the tips 8 of the arms 7. A current pulse then operates the cutter 15 to cut off the drawn out filament C. In the next phase, Fig. 8, the arms 7 are lowered vertically until the tips 8 reach a level below the skein A thus causing the filament C to wrap around the top and two side faces of the skein as shown in Fig. 14. The arms 7 are then swung towards each other, Fig. 9, to meet under the skein so that the filament C embraces the skein A and gathers it together. During their closing together of the arms 7, bottom fins 11, 12 on the arms 7 contact each other and cause a limited rotation of the tip 8 of one of the arms 7, namely arm 7a. At this the filament becomes detached from the cutter 15 and the tongs 16 which have now opened. In the subsequent phase, Figs. 10 and 16, the arms 7 are raised and their tips 8 pass through the skein A carrying with them the two ends of the filament C. In the meantime the tongs 16 have commenced to move back to the cutter 15 and during this motion the tongs pass between the two tips 8 and grasps the two ends of the joining filament C as well as the trailing end B of the material from which the skein A has been wound. At this stage the leading end of the skein may also be grasped, if desired, by further appropriate gripping means. The threading arms 7 are then lowered once more, Figs. 12 and 18, to move the tips 8 downwardly through the skein, and a tieing-cutting device 18 on a curved arm 19 is swung around a vertical axis to a setting where it grasps the ends joined by the tongs C, ties them together and cuts off the remaining end portions. Immediately afterwards the tieing-cutting device 18 is withdrawn, the tongs 16 completes its return movement to the cutter 15; the arms 7 are moved apart and then raised to their initial setting illustrated in Fig. 6. The tongs 16 then enter a suction mouth which removes the cut-off end pieces of the filaments. The specification also describes means for causing the skein tying device to move stepby-step from one skein to another along a wind-up apparatus on which a plurality of spaced apart skeins have been wound.