Patent GB-1532264-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for pneumatically separating a foot lap from a spinning cop
IPC: B65H67/08
Filed: 1976-06-30
Abstract: 1532264 Pulling off end turns from cops SCHWEITER ENG WORKS Ltd (MASCHINENFABRIK SCHWEITER AG) 30 June 1976 [3 July 1975] 27293/76 Heading D1J An apparatus for separating a thread end from a cop comprises a suction housing 101, Fig. 3, at one end of which is a rotatably driven ring 108, there being an aperture 110 in the ring through which a thread end from a cop can be sucked into the housing 101. Rotating with the ring 108 is a cop centering member 113 on which the cop rests. When a thread end has been sucked into the housing 101 a rod 123 is raised and this causes an upper rotatable clamping element 117 and a lower clamping element 120 to rise jointly, Fig. 7, so that the thread is clamped at a first point defined by engagement of the ring 108 with the upper rotatable clamping element 117. Upon further upward movement of the rod 123, Fig. 8, the lower clamping element 120 moves upwardly relatively to the upper clamping element 117 such that the thread is clamped at a second point defined by engagement of the lower clamping element 120 with a clamping ring 125. Within the housing 101 is a ring-shaped blade 106 so positioned that it extends through a straight line drawn between the two thread clamping points and so severs the thread or, if the blade 106 is blunt, tears the thread. Fig. 3 shows how the lower clamping member 120 is spaced from the upper clamping member by a spring 118; and how the upper clamping member 117 is spaced from the rotatably driven ring 108 by a spring 122. The spring 118 is stronger than the spring 122 so that when the rod 123 is raised the clamping members 117 and 120 first rise jointly whilst the spring 122 is compressed; and then when the clamping member 117 abuts against the rotatably driven ring 108 further upward movement of the rod 123 causes the spring 118 to compress so that the clamping member 120 can continue to rise until it abuts against the clamping ring 125. Fig. 6 shows a mechanism for positioning a cop over the apparatus described above. Cop gripping jaws 21 are secured to a housing 30 by links 23. The housing 30 is carried by a cross arm mounted on a vertical shaft 17. The shaft 17 is oscillatable about its axis by means 50 so as to swing a cop from a supply station to a position over the cop centering means 113; and then away from the cop centering means to a, cop receiving device. The shaft 17 can be raised and lowered in a frame 46 by link means 60 so as to lower the cop onto, and lift the cop up off, the centering means 113. Each cop is placed on, and removed from, the cop centering means 113 several times and each time the thread end seeking apparatus below the cop centering means 113 repeats its action in seeking out the thread end on the cop. Preferably the direction of rotation of the rotatably driven ring 108 is opposite to the direction in which the thread has been wound on the cop. The rotatable ring 108 may have gear teeth on its external periphery and be driven by another gear wheel through an aperture in the housing 101. Because the second clamping position is non-rotatable and the first clamping position is rotatable the thread therebetween is always stretched taut.