Patent GB-968045-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in sliver piecing apparatus for textile processing machinery
Inventor: COLE STANLEY LEWIS
IPC: B65H67/04
Filed: 1962-07-12
Abstract: 968,045. Piecing slivers &c. T. M. M. (RESEARCH) Ltd. Aug. 21, 1963 [July 12, 1962], No. 26908/62. Headings DID and D1F. Slivers &c. being fed to a processing-machine are pieced by severing the sliver already in process, seizing the end of a new sliver and conveying it to overlap the severed end of the old sliver, holding the new and old slivers in overlapping relation, severing the leading-end of the new sliver to give a predetermined overlap and feeding the overlapped slivers forward to the processing stage. In the diagram Fig. 1, sliver &c. passes from a can A through piecing-rollers, C, D and a drafting set E-G to be collected at B. When the sliver in A is exhausted or breaks or a given number of cans B have been filled, the drafting rollers are stopped, and the rollers C are reversed to break the sliver between the rollers C and D. With a new can at A, the upper rollers C and D are lifted off their companion lower rollers, and a suction nozzle H seizes the leading-end of the new sliver and places it on the lower rollers at C and D to overlap the stationary end of the old sliver. The upper rollers are now replaced and continued advance of the nozzle H breaks off a short waste end of the new sliver projecting beyond the rollers D. The apparatus is then restarted. In a practical embodiment Fig. 6, 114 is the supply can which is subdivided; 13, 131 and 14, 141 are the piecing-rollers;and 18 is the drawframe, subdivided guides 12 and 16, a table 15, feed rollers 17, 171 and an apron to convey the slivers to the back drafting-rollers being provided. Can 114 is brought into position on a conveyer and contains coils of a continuous sliver which is looped over the partitions so that when the loops are severed by the suction nozzles four separate slivers are formed which are combined in the draw-frame. The lower piecing-rollers 13,14 are driven, when the draw-frame is working, from a shaft 203 which is geared to the roller 14 and connected to roller 14 through an electromagnetic clutch 202. When the roller 13 has to be backrotated, it is driven by a motor 19 through a clutch 201, clutch 202 being then inoperative. For raising and lowering the upper piecing-rollers, they are carried by a block 23 on a shaft 24 geared to a shaft 27 which can be rotated one way or the other according to which of two clutches 28, 29 is energized, these being on a shaft driven from the motor 19. The nozzles 471 are mounted on a carriage 43 running on rails 40, 41, it being connected to an endless chain 44 running over sprockets 45, 46, the latter of which is driven through chain-and-sprocket gearing from motor 19. Interposed on the chain 44 is a member 431 pivoted to a block 4311 slidably carried on a bar 433 fixed to the carriage, so that when the member 431 passes around either of the sprockets 45, 46, the direction in which the carriage moves is reversed. The nozzles are mounted alternately on rods 433, 434 and so that spacing can be changed as the carriage moves, they are slidably mounted and are interconnected by a lazy-tongs linkage 48, the central pin of which slides vertically in a fixed guide 49. A chain 50 is connected to the innermost and outermost nozzles and passes around a sprocket 51 which is driven when a sprocket 52 engages a fixed rack 53 during the travel of the carriage when the carriage completes its forward travel a catch 473 engaging a fixed stop 54 causes the nozzles to be opened to allow the waste ends to be sucked away. One drafting apparatus is arranged to run slowly until the pierced portion passes clear of it. In modifications, the subdivided can 114 is replaced by four conventional cans; the spacing of the nozzles may be changed by screw- or cam-operated mechanism; the piercing-rollers may be replaced by clamps which are opened to receive the sliver and moved backwardly to sever it.