Patent Abstract:
A device is provided on a spinning preparation machine for receiving a sliver from a discharge device of the spinning preparation machine and transporting the sliver to a downstream machine, the spinning preparation machine having a depositing region. The device has a support for receiving the sliver deposited from the discharge device in the depositing region, and a moving device for moving the deposited sliver relative to the discharge device in the depositing region for forming a free standing sliver bundle, and for moving the free standing sliver bundle out of the depositing region for transport to a downstream machine.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/350,016, filed Jan. 24, 2003, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 102 05 061.9, filed Feb. 7, 2002, the priority of which is claimed herein. The contents of the foregoing applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a device on a spinning preparation machine, for example a carding machine or draw frame, involving the discharge of a sliver with a discharging device and depositing of the sliver on a support. The discharge device and the support can be moved relative to each other and the sliver (sliver bundle) deposited on the support can be fed to a processing machine downstream. 
   In a known device shown in European Patent Document EP 0 457 099, a sliver produced by a sliver delivery machine (a carding machine or draw frame) is deposited in a spinning can with a rectangular cross-section. In the process, the can moves back and forth within the depositing region. Once the can is filled with the ring-shaped deposited sliver, the can is moved out of the depositing region and is supplied to a downstream-connected device. A plurality of filled cans are stored in intermediate storage areas and the cans are supplied from there to, for example, a spinning machine. The cans are transported between the storage area and the spinning machine with the aid of a carriage. One disadvantage of the device is the high equipment cost for the system. A plurality of empty cans must be supplied to the depositing region of the machines for depositing the sliver and the cans filled with the sliver must then be removed again from the depositing region. Added to the expense for the structural adaptation of the machine to the can and the handling involved with the additional conveying or transport expenditure for the cans is the considerable expenditure for the cans themselves (purchase, storage, repair and the like). Finally, the sliver must also then be removed again from the cans at the downstream-connected processing machine. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the invention to create a device of the aforementioned type that avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages. In particular, the device should permit the easy displacement of the deposited sliver (sliver bundle) in the depositing region and/or out of the depositing region of the machine, thus making possible a considerable reduction in the equipment expenditure for the system. 
   Embodiments of the invention provide a device on a spinning preparation machine for receiving a sliver from a discharge device of the spinning preparation machine and transporting the sliver to a downstream machine, the spinning preparation machine having a depositing region, the device comprises a support for receiving the sliver deposited from the discharge device in the depositing region; and a moving device for moving the deposited sliver relative to the discharge device in the depositing region for forming a free standing sliver bundle, and for moving the free standing sliver bundle out of the depositing region for transport to a downstream machine. 
   Other embodiments of the invention provide a method of depositing and transporting a sliver bundle. The method comprises discharging a sliver from a discharge device of a spinning preparation machine; depositing the discharged sliver on a movable support in a discharge region of the spinning preparation machine; moving the support back and forth inside the depositing region relative to the discharge device to create a free standing deposited sliver bundle on the support; and moving the support with the free-standing sliver bundle to a downstream machine. 
   Sliver processing can be simplified considerably due to the fact that the deposited sliver (sliver bundle) as such can be moved during the sliver deposit with mechanical means within the depositing region, as well as out of the depositing region following the sliver deposit. Also, the removal of the slivers from cans or the like at the downstream-connected processing machine, for example a spinning machine, is omitted. Added to this is a large reduction in the equipment expenditure for the system. A structural adaptation of the sliver delivery machine (draw frame, carding machine) to a can is not necessary. In particular, the full scope of expenditure required for purchasing, storing and repairing a large number of cans and the like is avoided. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is explained below in further detail with the aid of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1   a  is a schematic side elevation view of a draw frame with a device according to the invention, using a carriage for the sliver deposit, shown in one end position below a rotating plate; 
       FIG. 1   b  shows the device according to  FIG. 1   a , but in the other end position below the rotating plate; 
       FIG. 1   c  shows the device according to  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b , but outside of the sliver-depositing device; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a draw frame with a sliver depositing device according to the invention using a conveyor belt for the sliver deposit; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic side elevation view of a carding machine with a device according to the invention; 
       FIG. 4   a  is a top view of a sliver bundle deposited freely on the top of a carriage; 
       FIG. 4   b  is a side elevation view of the sliver bundle shown in  FIG. 4   a;    
       FIG. 5   a  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the invention using a conveyor belt that can be raised and lowered and functions as sliver deposit and removal device during the depositing operation; 
       FIG. 5   b  is a side elevation view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5   a  during the removal operation; 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the invention having a thrust device fox the sliver bundle changeover; and 
       FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the invention having a lifting device and extended conveyor belt which function simultaneously for traversing and removal. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  shows an example of a high-performance draw frame  1  (autoleveller) manufactured by the company Trützschler, Mönchengladbach, Germany, such as the high-performance draw frame HSR 1000, in a schematic side elevation view. Individual slivers are fed from a can into the drawing unit that is not shown herein. In this unit, the slivers are drawn and combined to form a single sliver, which exits the unit. The sliver then passes through a rotating plate  2  and is subsequently deposited as a ring-shaped sliver bundle  4  on a support, for example a carriage  3  with rectangular top surface  3   a , which moves back and forth in the direction of arrows A and B. In this example, the rotating plate  2  rotates about fixed axis  102 . The carriage  3  is operated with a controllable drive motor  5 , which is connected to an electronic control and regulating device  6 , for example a machine control. A cover plate  10  for the sliver depositing device (sliver coiler arrangement) is attached to a support plate  7 . The arrow F indicates the operating direction (fiber-material flow) within the draw frame. The rotating plate  2  delivers the sliver bundle  4  in an essentially vertical direction. The depositing region is indicated by the reference number  8 , while the region outside of the depositing region  8  is indicated by the reference number  9 . The depositing region  8  comprises the drawing distance a according to  FIG. 1   b.    
   Carriage  3  moves back and forth horizontally below the rotating plate  2  while the sliver  4  is deposited. One end position of carriage  3  is shown in  FIG. 1   a  while the other end position is shown in  FIG. 1   b . As a result, the sliver bundle  4  is also moved back and forth below the rotating plate  2  in the direction of arrows A and B. Once it reaches the end position shown in  FIG. 1   a , the carriage  3  moves in the direction of arrow C, wherein the carriage  3  is accelerated, then driven with a steady speed and subsequently decelerated again. After reaching the end position shown in  FIG. 1   b , the carriage  3  moves back in the direction of arrow D, wherein the carriage  3  is accelerated, then driven with a uniform speed and subsequently decelerated once more. The control unit  6  in connection with the drive motor  5  implements the back and forth movement. 
   The speed-controlled electric motor  5  drives the carriage  3  with a non-jolting or nearly non-jolting speed. The acceleration and deceleration, in particular, occur without jolting or nearly without jolting while the speed between the acceleration and deceleration remains uniform. The sliver bundle  4  thus remains stable during the back and forth movement in the depositing region  8 , according to  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b , as well as during the movement out of the depositing region  8  according to  FIG. 1   c . The movements are controlled in such a way that the highest possible production speed is realized, without slippage or tilting of the sliver bundle  4 . 
   While the sliver is being deposited, the control unit  6  (see  FIG. 1   a ) controls the back and forth movement of the carriage  3  to create a stable sliver bundle  4 . In one embodiment, the rotating plate  2  rotates at a fixed location and discharges the sliver onto the carriage  3  at a constant charging pressure. The constant charging pressure is generated by discharging the sliver at a constant feed rate per material layer of sliver. For instance, the rotating plate  2  discharges sliver onto the carriage  3  at a constant rate so that each layer of sliver rings deposited during either the forward or backward movement receives a substantially uniform amount of sliver. Having a constant amount of sliver per layer promotes the stability of the sliver bundle  4 . 
   The rate of the back and forth movement of the carriage  3  is also controlled to increase the stability of the sliver bundle  4 . As the carriage  3  reaches the reversal point at either end of the back and forth movement, the control unit  6  decelerates the carriage  3  as the carriage  3  approaches a seam area  402   a  or  402   b  of the sliver bundle  4  and accelerates the carriage  3  as the carriage leaves the seam area  402   a  or  402   b . In between the seam areas  402   a  and  402   b  on either side of the sliver bundle  4 , the control unit  6  controls the carriage  3  to have a constant speed. The seam area  402   a  or  402   b  is the location on either end of the sliver bundle  4  where the sliver rings deposited on the carriage  3  do not completely overlap (see  FIG. 4   a  and  FIG. 4   b ). The seam area  402   a  or  402   b  occurs shortly before the reversal point of the movement of the carriage  3  at either end of the sliver bundle  4 . In contrast, in the non-seam area  404 , during either the forward or backward movement of the carriage  3 , the back edge of each sliver ring is deposited on top of the front edge of a previously deposited sliver ring. 
   To account for less sliver being deposited in the seam area  402   a  or  402   b , the control unit  6  decelerates the carriage  3  so that more sliver may be deposited in the seam area  402   a  or  402   b  and accelerates the carriage  3  to a constant speed in the non-seam area  404 . The deceleration of the carriage  3  increases the amount of sliver deposited in the seam area  402   a  or  402   b  since the rotating plate  2  discharges the sliver at a constant rate independent of the movement of the carriage  3 . When the carriage  3  decelerates, more sliver may be deposited at that location to account for the non-overlapping rings of sliver near the reversal points. The non-uniform speed of the carriage  3  permits a substantially uniform amount of sliver to be deposited at both the seam area  402   a  or  402   b  and the non-seam area  404  of the sliver bundle  4  for each layer of sliver deposited in the back and forth movement of the carriage  3 . The non-uniform speed of the carriage  3  also provides substantially uniform density of the sliver at all locations within the sliver bundle  4 . This uniform density of sliver permits the sliver bundle  4  to be formed stably on the carriage  3  and allows the sliver bundle  4  to be accelerated back and forth while minimizing the possibility that the canless, laterally unsupported, sliver bundle  4  will become unstable and topple over. 
   Once the depositing of the sliver bundle  4  on the surface  3   a  is complete, the carriage  3  together with the sliver bundle  4  moves in the direction of arrow E out of the sliver-depositing device (sliver coiler arrangement). The control unit  6  controls the movement of the carriage  3  for the changeover from the back and forth movement (arrows A, B) during the sliver deposit to the movement (arrow E) out of the depositing region  8 . 
   In the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 2 , round cans  44  are arranged below the sliver intake  45  and the feed slivers  46  are pulled off via rollers and fed into the draw frame. Following the passage through the draw frame  11 , the drawn sliver  12  arrives at the rotating plate  2  and is deposited in rings on a rectangular plate  13 . The plate  13  is arranged on an endlessly circulating conveyor belt  14 , which is driven by a controllable electric motor  15  that ensures the back and forth movement of the conveying belt  14 , the plate  13  and the sliver bundle  4  in the direction of arrows G, H. In this example, the conveyor belt  14  is at least twice as large as the maximum movement of the sliver bundle  4  in the horizontal direction in the depositing region. The electric motor  15  is connected to an electric control and regulating device  6 . 
     FIG. 3  shows a carding machine, for example a Trützschler high-performance carding machine model DX 903, comprising a feed roller  16 , feed table  17 , licker-ins  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c , main carding cylinder  19 , doffer  20 , stripping roll  21 , crushing rolls  22 ,  23 , sliver guide element  24 , web trumpet  25 , withdrawing rolls  26 ,  27 , traveling flats  28 ,  14  and sliver coiler arrangement  29 . Curved arrows indicate the rotational directions of the rollers. The carding machine operating direction is shown by arrow I. A housing  31  with therein-disposed rotating plate  2  is located above the cover plate  30  for the sliver coiler arrangement. A sliver support is embodied as carriage  3 , which is provided with a rectangular plate  3   a  on the top. During the sliver deposit on the rectangular plate  3   a , the carriage  3  is moved back and forth in the direction of arrows K, L with the aid of a drive mechanism, for example the controlled motor  32 . 
     FIG. 4   a  shows a view from above of a ring-shaped sliver bundle  4 , deposited freely on the top  3   a  of the carriage  3 .  FIG. 4   b  shows a view from the side of the sliver bundle  4  that is positioned freely on the carriage  3 . As depicted in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b , the sliver bundle  4  is formed into a rectangular shape of sliver rings. The rectangular shape of the sliver bundle  4  is formed by the manner in which the sliver is deposited. The rotation of the rotating plate  2  as the sliver is discharged forms a layer of overlapping rings of sliver on a receiving surface of the carriage  3 , and the movement of the carriage  3  back and forth under the control of the control unit  6  adjusts the locations at which the sliver rings are formed on the receiving surface. The movement of the carriage causes the deposited rings to be offset from one another and to partially overlap on the receiving surface of the carriage  3 , which creates the substantially rectangular shape of the sliver bundle  4  when viewed from the top. At either end of the sliver bundle  4 , the changing of the direction in the back and forth movement of the carriage  3  leaves the sliver bundle  4  with rounded ends for the rectangular shape, as best shown in  FIG. 4   a . In one embodiment, the rectangular shape of the sliver bundle  4  is advantageous since it promotes the stability of the sliver bundle, as compared with conical or cylindrical shaped sliver bundles. 
     FIG. 5   a  illustrates a further exemplary embodiment of the movement of the devices according to the claimed invention.  FIG. 5   a  shows a carriage  3  with a holding device  34   a ,  34   b , for example a post, arranged on the top. A conveyor belt  33  is attached to this holding device, such that it can be displaced up or down in the direction of arrows M, N. In this example, the conveyor belt  33  has a length substantially equal to a maximum movement of the sliver bundle in the horizontal direction in the depositing region. The sliver bundle  4  is deposited on the upper belt section  33   a  of the conveyor belt  33 . During the sliver deposit, the carriage  3  moves back and forth in the direction of arrows C, D. After reaching each respective end position (compare  FIGS. 1   a ,  1   b ), the conveyor belt  33  is displaced downward in the direction M by as much as a sliver thickness, for example 10 mm, with the aid of a drive motor (not shown herein) to create a substantially constant space for the next layer of sliver material to be deposited into. The substantially constant space refers to the temporary area between the top of the laterally unsupported sliver bundle  4  and the bottom of the rotating plate  2 . This space is immediately filled with new sliver material to create a constant filling pressure for each layer of sliver deposited. The substantially constant space permits only a substantially constant amount of area for sliver to be deposited for each layer of sliver. A layer of sliver may be considered the amount of sliver deposited between a single pair of movement reversal points for the carriage  3  (i.e., from the point at which the movement of the carriage  3  changes direction until the next reversal point). Discharging the sliver into the substantially constant space allows a substantially uniform density of sliver to be formed at all locations within the sliver bundle  4 , which promotes stability of the sliver bundle  4 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 5   b , when the sliver depositing operation is completed, the upper belt section  33   a  is moved in the direction R, for example with a controlled drive motor (not shown herein), so that the sliver bundle  4 ,  4 ′ is pushed onto a secondary, essentially flat supporting surface  35 , for example a transporting tray. The edge of the support surface  35 , which faces the carriage  3  for example, is beveled, rounded or has a similar shape. 
     FIG. 6  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention. As shown, a lifting base  36 , for example a platform, is arranged on the carriage  3 , which can be attached to holding elements in the manner shown in reference DE 44 07 849 A1. The lifting base  36  can be adjusted in the direction of arrows O, P by means of lifting elements  42   a ,  42   b , for example controlled pneumatic cylinders. The carriage  3  is provided with a support element  37 , for example a post. A sliding device  38  is attached to this post via a suitable, controlled drive element  39 , for example a pneumatic cylinder, a spindle drive, or the like. Once the sliver bundle  4  is deposited completely on the surface of the lifting base  36 , the sliding device  38  is moved in the direction of arrow S toward the sliver bundle  4 . The sliver bundle  4  is thus pushed from the lifting base  36  onto the support surface  35  through direct pressure exerted by the sliding device  38 . The support surface  35  rests on a frame  40  or the like, can be removed from the surface of the frame  40  together with the sliver bundle  4 ′ and can be supplied to a downstream-connected processing device, for example a spinning machine, or to a storage area. 
     FIG. 7  shows a lifting platform  41 , which can be lifted and stopped in the direction of arrows T, U by means of lifting elements  42   a ,  42   b , for example controlled pneumatic cylinders. A conveyor belt  43  is provided on the surface of lifting platform  41 , the belt sections of which can be moved in the direction of arrows X, Y. The drive and control of the conveyor belt  43  correspond to the type shown in  FIG. 2 . During the depositing operation, the upper belt section  43   a  is moved back and forth underneath the rotating plate  2 , in the direction of arrows X, Y. Once the sliver is deposited as sliver bundle  4  on the upper belt section  43   a , a control unit  6  (see  FIG. 2 ) controls a drive motor  15  (see  FIG. 2 ) in such a way that the upper belt section  43   a  moves the sliver bundle  4  out of the depositing region  8  underneath the rotating plate  2  and places it onto a support surface  35 . 
   The invention has been described in detail with respect to preferred embodiments and it will now be apparent from the foregoing to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The invention, therefore, is intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 3